let us turn to the chapter that
we read in the book of Isaiah chapter 49 I will read the verses
14 and 15 but Zion said the Lord hath forsaken
me and my Lord hath forgotten me Can a woman forget her sucking
child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her
womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget thee. These two verses are in a stanza
from the 13th to the 17th verse. As we read through the chapter,
the opening 12 verses are all regarding the Lord Jesus Christ
sent as that light for the Gentiles. Which is why the 13th verse comes
to this. Sing, O heavens, and be joyful,
O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, for the
Lord hath comforted his people and will have mercy upon his
afflicted. But Zion said, the Lord hath
forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. Thy children shall make haste.
thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth
of thee." But in particular I believe the
Lord has laid upon my mind the words in the 14th and the 15th
verse. I know that perhaps the Lord's
servants here will know this experience. It has happened to
me from time to time. You may have had a service upon
your thoughts at some point in the future. You felt a portion
of scripture laid upon you. But then as the time draws close,
that seems to have gone. and you cannot return to the
place that you were in. You may have felt, as I did on
one occasion, the word opened up, the word supplied, and it
seemed to come in such a powerful form, yet when the occasion came,
it was not the word to bring. But I can say this, that it was
only a little while and it returned and was brought before the people
and what a mercy though in one in particular received a special
blessing from it if I want to come to these two verses look
who is speaking to begin with but Zion said and think then
of who these people were These were not just the natural Israelites. These were the leaders of the
people of Israel. These were the people like Moses
and Aaron. These were those that met no
doubt in those councils, the Sanhedrin as it was called. These
were those that were the high priests, the priests and the
scribes. What did they say? The Lord hath forsaken me and
my Lord hath forgotten me. As we come to these words, I
would say to consider those two words which are very much in
the scripture. One is remember, the other is
those things that are forgotten. We will look at them as the Lord
may grant us the ability. But Zion said, for a solemn time
then this was. Here was this complaining spirit
amongst the Lord's people. And friends, I know for I've
been in this place, perhaps you may be like Jeremiah in the Lamentations
when he says, I cry and shout. He says, and he shutteth out
my prayer. solemn language when you read
it and when you've lived through that experience of it you've
come almost to this place the Lord hath forsaken me I understand that the literal
Hebrew word means just that to leave completely it doesn't mean
just as it were to lay to one side but it means to go away
from and not to return it's as if it's a complete action you're
forsaken and that's the state that you're in and we read and my Lord hath
forgotten me again I understand the Hebrew translation for this
word is to be mislaid like you mislay something and you can't
find it This was how they were bringing their matters before
the Lord. But this was a time of looking
back. It was a reminder to them of
what had been said in the past. When we come to the end of the
book of Malachi, the Old Testament, and we think of that time in
between the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, in the Gospel
of Matthew as it opens up the exact time is in question
but it is around 420-430 years 4 centuries at least most Jewish
commentators believe that Malachi was speaking in around 420 BC
before Christ But then there was that intervening
time. And sometimes our soul's experience
seemed to be the same. There seems to be a time that
continues. When will the Lord come? And
how solemn when we can say, my Lord hath forgotten me. There
are other references, I thought of them earlier this morning. The Psalms refer to them too. There's a Psalm of David, one
of the early Psalms. It's Psalm 13, and it's one of
David's writings. And he says something similar
in that Psalm. Psalm 13 opens, How long wilt
thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt thou hide
thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall
mine enemy be exalted over me? It's a cry, isn't it? It's a
play. How long? Solemn language, isn't
it? That was David's words. Asaph
comes, again, very similar language in the 77th psalm. And he comes into a solemn state,
doesn't he? Verse seven, will the Lord cast
off forever? And will he be favorable no more?
Is his mercy clean gone forever? Does his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercies? Friends, that's unbelief, isn't
it? What does he say? And I said, this is my infirmity.
This is my infirmity. Meaning his forgetfulness. The Lord hath forsaken me. My
Lord hath forgotten me. It reminds me of the language
of Jacob when he heard, of course, the fact that they had to go
down again into Egypt and to collect more corn. He had already
one son there, Joseph, that he did not know was there. And another
son kept there because of the demand of Joseph. He says, all
these things are against me. Friends, I can stand before you
and adjust in the Holy God and confess I've said it many a time.
But read on. continue on with the life of
Jacob. And what a great mercy we can
say humbly how wrong he was. We read of him before he passes
away, worshipping, leaning upon his staff. He has all his family
now gathered, Joseph and his sons, of course, who he puts
his hands upon. You can read the account. but
Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten
me in a certain sense there are those things that we are not
to forget how careful we should be when we come before the Lord
in this manner the Lord commands his people not to forget his
covenant not to forget his works nor to forget his word and they
were not to forget their God they turn their back upon him
friends what of us what a solemn state we can come into I felt
it in the meditations upon him also think of those things that
we can forget forget to do forget to pray forget to give thanks
remember the ten lepers coming to the Lord Jesus Christ each
seeking the same thing they sought of course to have that leprosy
taken from them to be cured and they go away do they not they
had received the blessing how many return only one the remainder
had forgotten and how we should be thankful that the Lord is
forget our sins the Lord does not hold our sins in remembrance
we have the scripture again in this prophecy of Isaiah to prove
it and you can turn to it and we have the mercy of those scriptures
that the Lord speaks from and he speaks You can have it in the two chapters
43 and 44. The Lord speaks to them as what
he has done for them. And that is great mercy. The great mercy that the Lord,
he says, but thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob. Thou hast been
weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the
small cattle of Thy burnt offerings, neither hast Thou honoured me
with Thy sacrifices. I have not caused Thee to serve
with an offering, nor wearied Thee with insects. Thou hast
bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast Thou filled
me with the fat of Thy sacrifices. But Thou hast made me to serve
with Thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with Thine iniquities. I,
even I, and he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine
own sake, and will not remember thy sins. He then goes on to
say, put me in remembrance. Those things we are to remember.
Put me in remembrance. Great mercy when the Lord can
prompt our spirit to remember. Put me in remembrance. and you
can continue into chapter 44 and you'll find similar language
there when the Lord speaks and says in verse 21 remember these
O Jacob again this exhortation to remember remember these things
of God and O Jacob and Israel for thou art my servant I have
formed thee thou art my servant O Israel thou shalt not be forgotten
of me I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and
as a cloud thy sins. Return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee. You will see similar language
in verse 23 of chapter 44 as you have in verse 13 here. Think
of what the Lord has done. And we have also David's encouragement
in the 103rd Psalm that we are not to forget all the benefits
of a gracious God. You may look back, we have an
anniversary, it's a great blessing. What does he say? Bless the Lord,
O my soul, all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Do not
forget them. I often think of that precious
word in Malachi. There were those that they spake
often one to another, didn't they? They had that record set
up, as it were. And it's a beautiful verse, isn't
it? Consider it. What took place at that time?
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. And
the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance
was written before him. for them that fear the Lord and
that thought upon his name and who read on and they shall be
mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my
jewels but Zion said these are the Lord's people friends have
you ever come into this poor solemn place you felt bereft
you fear that the Lord is not mindful of you there's another
word used as it were in the passage of scripture, the Lord hath been
mindful of us. He has not forgotten us. We have
also an example in verse 15, can a woman forget her sucking
child that she should not have compassion on the son of her
womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget they. These were the words that came
with power and with sweetness. Yet will I not forget thee. Even this day, they have seemed
to come with some measure of sweetness to me. It seems to
confirm this word. Yet will I not forget thee. Friend, you cannot be forgotten.
The Lord does not and cannot and never shall forget his people,
yet will I not. The beautiful language here,
yet will I not forget them. We may feel very much like Zion
was. in that state of being forgotten
what has the Lord thought about us but friends there's many a
passage of scripture where the Lord says even to Jeremiah my
thoughts I know the thoughts that I have toward you he says
thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected
end thoughts of peace not of evil and I trust you know it
These things come from an ever gracious God. The Lord speaking
to his own. There is this example, isn't
there? You may forget. Cowper or Cooper as we should
rightly call him perhaps. It was his correct name. He wrote
didn't he? Can a woman's tender care cease
toward the child she bear? Yea, they may forgetful be, yet
will I not forget them. Friends, we have a God that does
not forget. He does not forget your heart,
your soul, your spirit. He knows your thoughts are far
off. He sees your path. The hand of God is upon you and
with us. The Lord of hosts says the psalmist
is with us. He does hear the voice of his
people. It is our sin that causes this feeling of separation from
the Lord. We wander. We're prone to wander. we are like those sheep of whom
Isaiah just in a few chapters will speak chapter 53 all we
like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own
way yet the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all remember
and I want to come to that thought of remembrance the Lord hath
not forsaken he will not forget and what a great mercy we have
a God who knows all things. The fact I just brought before
you is that he does forget the sins of his people. But he says,
I will not forget they. No, your heart, your soul, your
spirit, nor your prayers. And David said it, didn't he?
Psalm 139. He knows our down sittings and
our uprisings. He knows your thoughts are far
off. Friends, we tend to forget these things, I do. The Lord
continually looking upon his people. Look at verse 16. Thy walls are continually before
me. It could mean the walls of Jerusalem. It could mean the walls of your
heart. Remember how John Bunyan wrote,
didn't he, regarding that holy war, didn't he? The book regarding
it. There were the walls, but so soon those walls were broken
down. Ear gate and eye gate and so
on, and you can read it. But how quickly Satan can enter
in. Yet will I not forget thee. Things
that the Lord reminds us to remember The Lord Jesus Christ was sought,
was he not, upon the cross at Calvary? One dying with him cried
out, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And he had
his answer. What an answer it was. Today,
shalt thou be with me in paradise. Friends, that's remembering.
That soul that sought. That soul that humbled himself
before the Lord. Yet will I not forget thee? You
see, he will not forget his love. Whom once he loves he never leaves. As the hymn writer, he loves
them to the end. And he does. And you find that
is only a hymn upon John 13 and the first verse. Whom having
loved his own, he loved them unto the end. Do you not feel
it at times? the great mercy that we have
a God of love that deals with us it is a mercy I will not forget
that once he set his love upon his people they are continually
before him we may be in some very difficult
situations at times we may think that all of the matters that
surround us look black and awful and particularly upon this earth
and so often when you look down you can see the darkness you
can see the sin you can see satan's work very evident apostle paul
speaks doesn't he speaks of those powers of the air speaks of those
whisperings doesn't he you can read it in the epistle to the
ephesians but friends it is true isn't it those evil spirits those
evil powers they rise up And they can rise up in our own heart,
I confess it. Yet will I not forget them? Even
Jeremiah. Put into the prison more than
once. Don't think that the prison was
an easy place to be. Not like today. Very often it
was a hole cut in the floor. Once you were down there, there
was no way out. It was complete darkness. It was usually the end of the
purse, because there was no food provided. You can read as how
he was rescued, as we might call it, from that place. Old class
clout, clout's we could make. They strung them together, pulled
him out. No, the Lord says, I will not
forget that. The Lord, of course, did not
forget Joseph himself, did he? There were his brothers and how
unkind they were to him. Cast him into a pit, don't they?
Ah, but the Lord's hand is there. Those things that are to be revealed
in time, they came to pass. Those dreams that they mocked,
those things that he said to them, those bitter words that
they spoke against him, all come to pass. You see, the Lord will
not forget. And think also of Joseph's loss. Those times he spent in the prison
for a lie. Solemn things that took place. Yet will I not forget they? Oh,
friends, you cannot be forgotten. Sometimes, perhaps, even the
Lord's servants, you fear that you'll be left It has often been
said, I'm sure, this is nothing new in repeating it, but when
you climb the pulpit steps, it's Lord help me, Lord help me, however
many steps there are. But has the Lord forgotten to
be gracious? Has the Lord forgotten his people
whom he loved? Has the Lord forgotten his bride,
his church? Has the Lord forgotten her fears,
her doubts, her cares, her burdens, her needs? Has the Lord forgotten
them? I think we can say they're ever
before him. Friends, is not the Lord full
of grace and mercy? Does not the Lord provide? We've
come even to this day as a day of anniversary. Think over the
past year. You've come to this house of
prayer. You've come to this house of
God. You've heard the preaching of
the gospel. How many occasions have those
dear friends that are here received the blessing, received the supply? The Lord's work goes on in your
soul. it's in your heart, your spirit
there's that reviving, there's that refreshing there may be
those seasons very much like us all where perhaps we become
rather what shall we call it? languid there isn't much life
within other times you feel lively you feel strong, you feel that
you come in that desire that longing, you come in the spirit
of prayer Friends, we go through these experiences, don't we?
It's the soul's experiences upon this earth. But the Lord does
not forget his people, yet will I not forget thee. And you can
read in Psalm 107, various occasions where the people came to, almost
as if they say their wits end, don't they? There they were,
very much at the end of all things. Then they cried unto the Lord,
unto the Lord in their trouble. But you see the mercy is, if
you read the psalm, that the Lord heard it, didn't he? The
Lord answered. The Lord sent the answer of peace,
the answer of mercy, the answer of his grace. Then they cry unto
the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. Now, the Lord does not forget
us. I trust this may be laid upon our heart all to consider,
think upon those things, look back. May the Lord grant us not
to forget what he has done for us, yet will I not forget they. The blessing and the mercy, how
much mercy that the Lord has granted to us. He hasn't forgotten,
has he, to be merciful unto us. The Lord says that he will be
merciful. To whom he will be merciful? Friends, we have no
mercy, haven't we? There is a fountain filled with
blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins. All who are plumbed beneath
that flood lose all their guilty stains. Friends, how often do
you have to go to it? Has the Lord forgotten? Is there
no supply? Is the fountain dried up? Friends,
it's never flowing. Its cleansing power has never
diminished. Its work goes on. Ah, but you
say, I need that drawing power. Yes, we do. But then the Lord
is at work. Sometimes we have these matters put upon us, as it were,
to bring us to our knees, to cry, to plead for mercy. We must
come in the spirit of repentance, a seeking soul, a pleading soul,
confessing our sin. If we confess our sin, we read
he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin. You go to the fountain.
Has he forgotten you? No. All who are plunged beneath
that flood, says the dear hymn writer, lose all their guilty
states. Friends, you've come there again. Has the Lord forgotten
to be gracious? No. You're put into that fountain. The cleansing power and work
takes place. I will not forget they. Think
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the dear Redeemer, coming to this
earth. They longed for his coming, didn't they? I've already mentioned
the number of years between the end of the Old Testament and
the beginning of the New Testament. And friends, did the Lord forget
his people? Why no. In due time, the dear Redeemer
lives upon this earth. What a great mercy that he comes.
But he came. He lived here below. He was born. His life, His teaching, His word. See, it's all revealed, isn't
it? And in that thought, we've already
thought of love and mercy. Can the Lord forget His word?
We know that the Israelites forgot the covenant. And the Lord Himself
says, my covenant they break. But what of that covenant of
His grace? The covenant's sealed with the blood of Christ. Friends,
of course, it's not forgotten, is it? It's seen in heaven. It's
His Word. And you know that His Word, it
doesn't fall to the ground, does it? It doesn't come to nothing. When the Lord has said it comes
to pass, the blessing is received, the comfort, it does come. The mercy, it does flow. The forgiveness of sins, you
know it and feel it. Didn't the hymn writer say it
was Joseph's heart? What call we small things? Sins
whole, cancelled, summed, with a question mark? Friends, that's
not a small thing. It's the greatest thing that
you'll ever receive upon this earth. Your sins cancelled. That sum, that debt, removed
forever. I will not forget them. He came
to shed his precious blood. He came to be the sacrifice for
his dear people. I will not forget them. There's
the need of the sacrifice. Remember Abraham's words to Isaac
that God would provide himself a lamb for the burnt off. And there is the lamb of God,
the Lord Jesus. Yet will I not forget thee? Or
that we may know that the Lord is not forgotten. He looks down
upon us. And then remember as we come
to the time when we come round the Lord's table. Remember what
the Lord's words were. It was a time of remembrance. This do in remembrance of me. Do not forget it. It's a continual
reminder, isn't it? It was this work at Calvary.
It was this work of mercy, this work of salvation. Friends, if
you perhaps have prayed for a word in your need, a word of promise,
and then think of those promises. Are they forgotten? I can confess
that many times I've said I will do things for others had to be
reminded the thought goes, we are natural people. But a gracious
God, the Lord God Almighty, the God of all wisdom, he does not
forget. His promise, his word, firm and
sure, stands forever. Yet will I not forget that? It
does come as a word of comfort. in whatever state we're found
in whatever difficulty whatever concern whatever burden whatever
fear whatever care sometimes these things can come upon us
almost one upon another can't they and you almost feel as if
it's like so much like a waterfall would wash your way It's such a great depth. Your
soul goes down into it. But he says, yet will I not forget
that. The Lord will bring you up again.
That's his word. It's his promise. All the promises
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ we read, in him are yea and amen. He is a faithful God. He is faithful
that promised, is the scripture. Have you not proved it? Have
you not received it? I will not forget them. Look
back over the years. Have you been forgotten? No,
the disciples were sent out, weren't they? And they were to
take nothing in their way that they went through. They were
told not to take a coat even. Certainly not to gather all of
those things that perhaps we might put together and say, well
I'm going on a journey, I'll take this and this and this.
and then they return and the Lord says, lachy anything? and they said, nothing Lord the
Lord had not forgotten them the Lord's supply was there many evidences, many experiences
I feel sure could be produced upon this that the Lord has not
forgotten his people And some perhaps have received greater
evidence of it than others. But these things, they stand,
don't they? They stand before the Lord. And
if the Lord has granted you a word of his promise, you have to plead
it. Lord, hast thou not said? And you have to come. Come to
the throne of grace. Bring it before the Lord. Is
not this a true promise? Yet will I not forget thee? I
will not. I will not. I cannot. We have
the hymn that says it, don't we? Beautiful language, isn't there,
in Isaiah 43? But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, For I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel. For I am. This is what I will
do. And the Lord goes on to promise,
doesn't he? The Lord says that it is his work. He comes to this
conclusion, doesn't he? Verse 13, I will work and who
shall let it? Friends, that's his work. You
know it. Do we feel it? The Lord has not
forgotten. He cannot. He will not. It's
his promise. And we lay it before him. And
then think of that entrance into the presence of the Lord in heaven
in eternity. As the Lord's dear people enter
there, they reveal that the Lord their God is a God of remembrance. Their names written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. They are the saints of the living
God. They are the inheritance those
who inherit the kingdom. The Lord does not forget them.
The Lord will bring them. The Lord promises that they shall
come before Him. They shall stand unblameable,
unreprovable, perfect in the presence of God. I've often quoted and looked
at, it is a hymn that can often bring tears to my eyes. He's
one of Joseph Hart's, he's number 29 in our Gadsby's hymn book.
When he speaks in such assurance, he says before his God that it shall be spoken. I'll
just read you the passage so that I don't misquote it. His beautiful language, when
it's upon your heart and spirit, He says, let us our love Redeemer
meet, weep o'er his pierced hands and feet, and view his wounded
side. This was a desire in entering
into the courts of the Lord. From which pure fountain, if
thou draw water to quench the fiery law, and blood to purge
our sin, we'll tell the Father in that day, and thou shalt witness
what we say. We are clean, just God. We are
clean. The Lord does not forget to cleanse
his people from their sins, to apply his precious blood. And
doesn't dear Paul, the Apostle Paul say it? Thanks be unto God,
he says, which giveth us the victory. See, these people are
not forgotten. And as they are called to enter
into that eternal place, know they proved this, that their
Lord had had mercy upon them, kept his word. Yes, they were
remembered, they were known, they belonged to him, they are
his, yet will I not forget thee. As I tried to say at the outset,
these words came with sweetness and power, and I trust as I've
had more than one application of them to myself you know this
is comfort when the Lord comforts his people this comfort is eternal
it's forever it's blessing isn't it think of the blessings of
the Lord Yet will I not forget them? Oh, you have to plead it,
don't you? But friends, don't you prove
it. The Lord has come. The Lord is blessed. The Lord's
Word is pure. It's holy. It's almighty. It's salvation. I will not forget
them. In that great day, in that great
day when you will stand before a just and a holy God, yet will
I not forget them? As that dear one comes and stands
and their names are called out, friends, we will all stand there.
Yet will I not forget thee? The Lord says, ah, but for this
one I died. For this one my precious blood
was spilt. This one is mine. I trust we may be found amongst
that. The Lord, dear Redeemer, has not forgotten amongst that
great number. Yet will I not forget thee. It
is a comfort, those words of comfort. We do need them, don't
we? We have so much to cast us down.
But I believe we can speak of these words, the Apostle Peter
says it, doesn't he? Exceeding great and precious
promises. Isn't this one of them? Don't you plead it? Do we not
know it? I do. I would confess it before
a just and a holy God. Doesn't it humble you in the
dust? Doesn't it bring you to your knees? And won't it be eternal
praise? And as yet will I not forget
thee. Oh may the Lord grant you to know that you are not forgotten.
Whatever your state, whatever your case, wherever you are,
you are not forgotten. The promise is made. It's sure, it stands forever.
It's the Lord speaking. The Lord God Almighty. yet will
I not forget thee." I trust that then this may be made some comfort
to us. I have to confess there are many
times when you feel so low, you feel burdened, you have few cares,
so many things come upon us, and you the Lord's servants here
know these things too, and those things that are duties, responsibilities,
But then the Lord comes and he says, yet will I not forget thee.
And then there have been more than once when in the passage
of time when so much has taken place, one thing upon another.
And you look back and you say, ah, the promise of the Lord is
true. David said it, didn't he? Surely,
he says, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Why? Because the Lord had not forgotten
him. Even in his worst state. Even when he was the greatest
sinner. Psalm 51. What a psalm. A psalm of penitence. A psalm of repentance. Oh, but
what had Nathan said to him? Thou art the man. What a finger
pointed at him. But then the Lord said, yet will
I not forget thee. Friends, I trust you can leave
these matters now, but oh may the Lord speak to us. May you
prove it as the days continue. I leave this thought and this
comfort with you. Some dear friends in old age,
they often live a lonely life, don't they? Walk a lonely path.
Remember the Lord's words, I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee. And in that way, I've often thought
of it like this, you can't be alone, can you? The Lord is there. The Lord's presence is there.
I trust you felt it in this house of God from time to time and
will feel it as time may continue in the Lord's sovereign mind
and will with your past the ministry and all that you may prove that
the Lord has not forgotten he's not forgotten his people he's
not forgotten the lambs he's not forgotten the sheep he's
not forgotten the flock he's not forgotten the bride he has
not forgotten Zion it's a sweet reproof isn't it But it's also
a bless, it's a comfort, it's a promise, it's a truth. I leave
these thoughts with you. But Zion said, the Lord hath
forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget them. Amen. Okay.