Let us turn to the psalm that
we read, Psalm 50, and turning in particular to verse 21. Psalm 50, 21. These things hast
thou done, and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee, and set them in
order before thine eyes. Turning then to this verse, and
in particular those three words where God says, I kept silence. These things hast thou done,
and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest that I was ordered
theretogether such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee. and
set them in order before thine eyes. God's silence then is the
subject matter but to say something initially of what we have in
the context of this verse where we're directed to the the otherness
of God's those words thou thoughtest that I was altogether such and
one as thyself Luther comments and says your
thoughts of God are too human thoughtest I was altogether such
and one as thyself we know we can have very low views of
God and very poor views really of what and who the Almighty
God is And we see it, of course, time and again, in the way in
which the Lord rebukes His ancient people, speaking to the children
of Israel in the midst of all their follies, wanting to be
like those nations about them, giving themselves over to idle
worship. And we have those verses several
times in the prophecy of Isaiah. For example, there in chapter
60 and verse 18, Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 18,
To whom then will ye liken God, or what likeness will ye compare
unto him? And then repeated again at verse
25, To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal, saith
the Holy One? Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
as Thyself. We should really come before
God and recognize something of His greatness. He is altogether
different to us. He, of course, is the Eternal
God that was and that is and that is to come. He is the Almighty. He is that One who dwells in
the highest heavens. He's the creator of all things,
the one in whom our very lives exist, and apart from God we
would sink into oblivion. And the psalm certainly opens
on that note, The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and
called the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down
thereof. God speaks and speaks, Here to
his people, verse 7, here are my people and I will speak, O
Israel, and I will testify against thee. I am God, even thy gods. And as we come to prayer, surely
we should be those who would desire that we might have right
views of God, large views of God. We sang just now in that
hymn of John Newton's, Thou art coming to a king, large petitions
with thee bring, for his grace and power of such none can ever
ask too much and how often we are so much straightened in our
own souls because we have such limiting views of the almighty
gods and yet when we think of gods and the persons in the godhead
now there is of course a measure of truth in what we are told
here Although it's a word of rebuke, thou thought'st that
I was altogether such and one as thyself. Those three words added, of course,
could quite easily be omitted, and then it's somewhat more stark,
thou thought'st that I was altogether as thyself. Well, there is truth,
there is a likeness there. Because when God makes man, he
says, let us make man in our image and after our likeness. He is created as the image bearer
of God. God forms a man out of the dust
of the earth and breathes into his nostrils the breath of life
and he becomes a living soul. He's not just a physical being,
he has a soul, there's a spiritual aspect to what man is and of
course God is a spirit himself. There is in some truth in thinking
that we're created as those who are
God's image bearers, but we know that alas that image was destroyed
in the fall and man's state now is one of total depravity, is
in a state of alienation and an enemy of God by his wicked
works. And so, we see the truth of what
Elihu says there in those final chapters of the book of Job.
Of Job, I will answer that God is greater than man, says Elihu.
He affirms that truth that God is greater than man. And even previous to that long
speech of Elihu's, earlier in the book of Job, we have those
Questions in chapter 11, canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as
heaven, what canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst
thou know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth and wider than the seas. The vastness of God,
that God who fills heaven and earth. And the wonder, when we
think of who God is, the mystery. The Apostle, writing to the Colossians,
speaks of the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of the Son. The mystery that is God, Father,
Son and Holy Ghost. God is one, hear O Israel, the
Lord our God is one Lord and yet God is a Trinity. There's
a unity, but it's a tri-unity, because there are three co-equal
persons who are the one living and true God. The three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and the three are one. And when we're baptized, when
we make our profession of faith, we are to be baptized as Christ
made quite clear in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost this is the badge of our profession we
are baptized in that name and we observe how there in Matthew
28 the name is in the singular God's name the name of the one
living and true God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost all the the
otherness, the supremacy of this great God. And we see something
of his supremacy when we think in terms of his great purpose,
the great purpose of salvation. Because one of the characteristics
of personality is the ability to will, we have wills. And God
has a will and There's a wonderful simplicity, really, to the will
of God. Again, in that remarkable book
of Job, Job 23 and verse 13, we're told He is in one mind.
And we mark that. He is in one mind, and who can
turn Him? And what His soul desireth, even
that He doeth. And so, theologically, we should
not so much speak of the decrees of God, but the decree. Because
God is in one mind, God's will is one. Of course, when we think
of the outworking of the decree, we see it in time. So, it does appear to us that
there are events and all events that come to pass are at his
command. But his decree is really one,
to think in terms of the singular. No thought of thine can be hindered,
we read there in Job again, Job 42 and verse 2, I know that thou
canst do everything and that no thought of thine can be hindered,
to read it with the margin. the great purpose of our God
and that purpose of course as it is singular so it is sovereign. He speaks in terms of thoughts
and ways as I've said because that's how we see the the will
of God being worked out. But He says, My thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. For as the
heaven is higher than the earth, so are My thoughts than your
thoughts, and My ways than your ways. There is nothing that can
stand against the will of God. No wisdom, nor understanding,
nor counsel can withstand this great God. There are many devices
in a man's heart, says the wise man. Nevertheless, the counsel
of the Lord's, that shall stand. Our God is in the heavens, then,
he hath done whatsoever he pleased, we read in another of the Psalms.
We're all familiar with these fundamental truths, really, of
the faith, of the doctrine of God. how different he is to us,
how thoughtless that I was altogether such and one as thyself and we're
created in his image in the first place but it's just the image
of God even in a state of innocency man was God's creature and he
only is the creator and he is that God who is holy as he is
eternal and no man has transgressed and sinned against his great
God and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing
and he does according to his will among the armies of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand, none
can say to him what doest thou he is sovereign then in his purpose
but his will is all so siding, that's the wonder How is it that
sinners come to experience the salvation of God? Well, they're
born, they're born again. And they're born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but they're
born of God. It's God's purpose that He's
being fulfilled. James says, "...of His own will
begotten us." Not only is the day, the hour,
the minute of our natural birth foreordained, as we read in Ecclesiastes,
a day to be born, but even our new birth, that is something
that is ordained of God, that is according to the will of God. Of His own will begat he us. And then the Lord Jesus We're
told in John 5.21, Even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.
Who is this Son? This is God. This is God manifest
in the flesh. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and
He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Whomsoever the Son
willeth to reveal God. to that sinner or the son is
sovereign the son is sovereign as the eternal son of god his
will of course in that sense is one with the father and one
with the holy ghost there's only one will in god there's no division
in the godhead there's a simplicity in the divine will but what a
mystery when we think of the incarnation because in the incarnation
God the Son takes to himself a true human nature and becomes
a real man and he has a human will and we see it there in all
his strugglings in the garden of Gethsemane how he wrestles
with his father, father if they'll be willing let this come pass
from thee nevertheless not my will but thy will be done he
has a human will that is subject to the divine will and that's
a mystery because he's never anything less than God or the
mystery the wonder of this great God that speaks to us here in
his word who declares himself and reveals to us that gracious
will even the salvation of many sinners. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such and one as Thyself." How men rebelled against God and
rebelled against the sovereignty of God and the sovereignty of
His grace and yet Paul reminds us, doesn't he, of how absolute
that sovereignty is even in a double predestination. Remember where
we read of that in Romans chapter 9. It's in the context of puny
man being answered. Nay, but, O man. That's how it
begins. Those verses, Romans 9, 20 and
21. Nay, but, O man who art there,
that replyest against God. Shall the thing form, say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? hath not the
potter power over the clave, the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing
to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured in much
longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory? even as whom he hath called,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Paul is so
clear, isn't he, with regards to puny man. Nay, but, O man, who art thou? Or thou thoughtest that I was
altogether such in one as thyself? Well, this is the context here,
but I said, considering in particular this statement, I kept silence. These things hast thou done,
and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such and one as thyself, but I will reprove thee, and set
them in order before thine eyes. The interesting thing is this,
that by his silence God also manifests himself. What a mystery
is that! that even when he is silent,
there's a revealing of himself. What is being revealed then?
Well, his patience, his long-suffering. The opening words of the text,
these things hast thou done. And so it refers us back to all
that's been said in the previous verses. And God speaks here unto
the wicked. He says, What hast thou to do
to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant
in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words
behind thee? All these, you see, are scorning
the Word of God. How awful it is to scorn God's
Word. What will God do? He will remove
His Word. from those who reject his word
that was a terrible judgment that came upon the people as
we are told there in Amos chapter 8 and verse 11 a famine on the
land not a famine of bread but a famine of the hearing of the
word of God when God takes away his word what a terrible judgment
upon any people and yet we are told aren't we earlier in the
psalm verse 3 our God shall come and shall not keep silence we kept silence but not forever
our God shall come and shall not keep silence a fire shall
devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about
him now this God does come will come and will come in the dreadful
ways of judgment, you punish the wicked. And we see different
characters in the psalm really. In verse 7 he says, Here are
my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify
against them. I am God, even thy God. Even
when he testifies against the sins and the follies of his people,
but then we have mention of another people in verse 16 but under
the wicked God said what hast thou to do to declare my statutes
or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth now we have to look to ourselves
and examine ourselves where are we in this great divide between
the people that are being spoken of. Are we those who despise
God and His Word or are we those who submit to it and desire to
submit to all His holy precepts? We bow before all His terrible
judgments when He comes with His reproofs and His rebukes.
We want to manifest that spirit of real meekness in His presence. remember the language of the apostle there in Romans in
Romans chapter 2 verse 4 he says despise us out of riches of his
goodness and forbear us and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance God's goodness God's long-suffering
it leads to repentance again Romans 15 verse 4, we're told
whatever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning that we through patience and comforts of the scriptures
might have hope. May the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be like-minded says Paul, like-minded one toward
another according to Christ Jesus. or we're to learn from God's
patience and long-suffering. And when God is silent, we're
even to bow to that. The silence of God, it reminds
us in some measure of His long-sufferings, His great patience with us, He
forbears. These things, as Thou dinest,
says, and I kept silent. It's a terrible thing, though,
when God does keep silent. Surely we should want that God
should come and deal with us. And so He says here, But I will
reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Oh, it's a mercy when God does
deal with us then. and show us something of what
we are and where we are and what our sins are make us aware where
we have been those who have been in the transgression again the
language that we have in another psalm the opening words of psalm
28 unto thee will I cry oh lord my rock be not silent to me,
lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down
into the pit." Well this is the petition of David then in the
opening words of this psalm. Above all things he doesn't want
God to be silent. Be not silent unto me, lest if
thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the
pit. We want God to come and speak
to us. Whatever it is that God would say to us. We know his
word is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect,
truly furnished unto every good work. When the Lord comes then
with his reproofs, is it not an indication in some measure
of his faith? And we know whom the Lord loveth,
he chastened us. and scourge at every son whom
he receiveth. He corrects his children as a
father corrects his child. What are we to do? Oh, we're
to bow. Again, another Psalm, Psalm 39
and verse 9, I was dumb, I opened up my mouth because thou didst
it. Oh, that's the spirit of meekness.
to stand, dumb as it were, before God. The worst thing of all is
for us to be left to ourselves and God not to have any dealings
with us. We don't want Him to be silent,
we want Him to come and speak even His ways as well as His
words. are part and parcel of His voice,
that voice that cries to the city. That we read of in Micah
6 and verse 9, the Lord's voice cries unto the city, the man
of wisdom shall see thy name. What is it to see God's name?
To see God's name when He cries to the city, hear the Lord. And who has appointed it? He
reveals Himself in His name. His name is the declaration of
Himself. And in all his ways then, as well as in all his words,
he's making himself known to us. What a favoured people we
are if God does that. And so when we experience something of his
silence, it's as if the Lord isn't hearing us when we pray.
What are we to do? We have to cry again, just as
David does there in the opening words of Psalm 28 keep not silenced,
keep not silenced again we have something similar in another
Psalm, don't we? that great 32nd Psalm another Psalm of David remember
what David says speaking of himself in verse
three, when I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring
all the day long. It's strange, it's as God comes
to us and communes with us and we feel something of his presence
and we're familiar with his word and his word is refreshing to
our souls. And then when we experience those
Periods when God's not speaking, what can we do? We can't speak
to Him. He's silent, we're silenced.
But here is David crying out that even when he kept silent,
his bones were roaring in him. He felt it in his soul. He's
having to come before his God with his sighings and his groanings. or that we might know something
then of the experience of the man of God as he speaks time
and again here in this remarkable book of Psalms of the Lord and
the ways of the Lord and the dealings of the Lord. These things
hast thou done, and I kept silence. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such an one as thyself, but I will reprove them and set them in
order before thine eyes. to know the Lord and to discover afresh something of
the ways and the dealings and the grace of the Lord, that God
who is ever too wise to be mistaken or too good to be unkind. May the Lord be pleased to bless
his word to us. as we come now and seek to present
to Him our prayers and our petitions. But before we pray, let's sing
the praises of God in our second hymn. The hymn is number 687 and the tune is Hanover 807.
Ye broken hearts, all who cry out unclean and taste of the
gall of indwelling sin, lamenting it truly and loathing it too,
and seeking up duly as sinners must do. If often he hides his
face from his friends and silent abides for merciful ends, at
length he uncovers himself from his cloud and sweetly discovers
his face and his blood. We'll sing the hymn 687 to the
tune 807.