I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing in prayer. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we ask that Thou has come and make Thy power known in our midst
this evening. Grant us, O gracious help, the
power of Thy Spirit and that help through this service. May
we truly worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Lord, we ask this
through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 197. Tune, Zoar Chapel 816. This evening we shall read from
two portions of God's holy word, Firstly, Psalm 110. Page 600, if you have a Ruby
Bible, the Bible box Bibles. Psalm 110. A Psalm of David. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. In the beauties of holiness,
from the womb of the morning, thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn and will
not repent. Thou art a priest for ever after
the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall
strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge
among the heathen. He shall fill the places with
the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over
many countries. He shall drink of the brook in
the way. Therefore shall he lift up the
head. Now let us turn to Paul's epistle
to the Thessalonians, his first epistle, and just reading chapter
one. Page 1097 in the free Bibles. 1 Thessalonians chapter one. and
Silvanus and Timotheus unto the Church of the Thessalonians,
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace
be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. We give thanks to God always
for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. remembering
without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost. so that ye were in samples to
all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad,
so that ye need not to speak anything. For they themselves
show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and
to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,
even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Lord
bless to us that reading of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we do beseech thee for the aid and help of thy spirit, the spirit
of prayer and of supplication, that Thou hast granted that blessing,
that Thou hast bestowed upon the Church of God, to call upon
Thee, that that might be granted to us publicly, and also each
one here in a private way, that we might know the secret of communion,
of fellowship, of union with Thee, to speak with Him that
we cannot see, to speak with Him and to commune with him that
once was upon this earth. Those that sat at thy feet and
heard thy word there, may we be of those that sit at thy feet
in hearing, in reading, in prayer. Lord, in this gospel day, we
do thank thee for this day of grace, a day of thy power, a
day when thou art pleased to bless the preaching of the word.
a day when they are gathering together, thine elect and thy
people, and the day that thou hast made, that we will rejoice
and be glad in it. O Lord, do be pleased to remember
us then this evening in this way, and feed and strengthen
our souls, quicken those that are dead into spiritual life,
and do lead on and teach those that are quickened. And Lord,
do be pleased to strengthen thy people in their pilgrimage and
in their path. Encourage them and help them,
answer their questions, settle their doubts, strengthen their
faith, and do magnify the Lord Jesus Christ amongst us, that
we might view thee and believe in thy name, that we might have
joy and peace in believing. Lord, we do commit The week that
we've entered upon unto thee, we thank thee for the first day
set apart, sanctified, separated, that we might begin the week
with a sweet savour of Christ and with strength in the inner
man. O Lord, who bless us thus, and thou who knowest how the
week will unfold. the trials of it, the tribulations,
the doubts, the perplexities, the things that we must pass
through that we do not yet know what we must pass through. But
let us know, make us then prepared and help us and with strength
through thy word this evening. Do pray, Lord, for healing for
those that are unwell, thy blessing upon treatment that those are
receiving. Lord, do remember those that
near their journey's end, do bless them, and do comfort those
that are in bereavement, and do help them. O Lord, do be with
thy people in trials of tribulation, affliction, and sorrows, and
thou knowest each individual case, and we see that thou send
that help from the sanctuary, and strength out of Zion. Make
us tender in thy fear, cause us to listen when Thou dost cause
us to stop, as well as to listen when Thou dost bid us to go forward. O Lord, make us to be like Israel
in that way of the Red Sea, who first had the command to stand
still, and then they had the command to go forward. O Lord,
do grant us to know both Thy restraining hand, Thy drawing
hand, the stop signs, the go signs. Oh Lord, do in mercy make
us tender and make us, Lord, willing to see that we might
not be rebellious and to kick against the pricks. And Lord,
especially where we have things that we think that we should
do or would be doing, and yet they are pleased to stop up our
way. Lord, do grant us to be submissive
under thy hand. O Lord, we remember thy servants
laid aside at this time to grant thy kind healing hand and strengthening
hand to be upon them. Be with those that have laboured
far off and have journeying mercies, Lord, so needed tonight. Watch over and keep them. And
O Lord, do remember those of thy people and many of thy servants
that have peculiar and particular trials and burdens that lay upon
them. Do sanctify them and make them
work for good, whether affecting the ministry and what they preach
or the way that they are able to sympathise with Thy people.
Lord, we thank Thee that Thou art our great, sympathising High
Priest. Thou knowest our frame. Thou
dost remember that we are but dust. Thou knowest the way that
we take. O Lord, we do thank Thee for
that precious word, Thou knowest. O Lord, how much that that does
comprehend and take in. Lord, for nothing can be hid
from Thee and no case is too hard for Thee. And Thou dost
understand all disorders of the soul and all of the intricacies
of providence and in our lives. And Lord, we do thank Thee for
that assurance. that Thou dost know all of these
things. Do grant unto us that wisdom
and grace and help to walk worthy of Thy great name. Grant us grace
to be salt and light in this world, and that we might show
forth Thy praise. Lord, do grant unto us to be
a kept people by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Do grant us deliverance from
Satan, from his snares, from the world and all its allurements,
from our own wicked and evil heart, and all its treacherousness. And Lord, do deliver us from
false brethren. Do deliver us, Lord, from the
way that seemeth right unto a man, the end thereof, the ways of
death. Do grant us, Lord, to be numbered
amongst thy people that are made wise unto salvation, that have
the secret of the Lord which is with them that fear him, that
thou hast granted unto us that thy word might be fulfilled,
that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them. unto babes, make us to be of
those who aim not high but aim at real things, make us simple
in understanding the things of God. Lord, do thou help us and
leave us not to be of those that seek to explain away thy precious
truths. O Lord, do help us and grant
that we might embrace them rather than to erase them. that we might
not make none affect thy word and the commandments of God because
of our tradition. Our Lord, do grant unto us to
clearly know those things that are revealed in thy word. Our Lord, do be pleased to bless
us with thy blessing as a church and people. Bless each gathered
here this evening and those that join with us online, be with
our young people, and do bless them, be with the children, remember
families and strengthen them in this our day. And O Lord,
bless our churches in this land and in other lands. Dear brethren
overseas, those in Holland, we pray for them each. And Lord,
that Thou has blessed those in America and Canada as well that
often join with us and listen to the ministry here, we commit
them unto Thee. Now, Lord, do be pleased to bless
each cause of truth in this land. And Lord, do strengthen our churches. Lord, do forgive and pardon our
many sins. We pray for a tender conscience,
a teachable spirit. Deliver us from the love of sin. Take away, Lord, that propensity. Subdue our sins. May we feel
and know those times that those sins that have traveled us, plagued
us, that are besetting upon us, that we have those times that
we distinctly feel that they have been subdued, that their
power, that their might, that their strength is reduced and
brought low. O Lord, we thank Thee that Thou
hast power to do this. And Lord, may we know those times
of the power of the Son of Man upon us. Our Lord, you shine
upon thy word. Lord, do make that to be a lamp
unto our feet, a light unto our path. There's our King and Queen,
the Royal Family, those in Parliament, our Prime Minister and the Cabinet,
and those who thou hast entrusted to govern this land, to give
them wisdom from thee, though they seek it not, we fear. And
Lord, do be pleased to bless those who are professed Christians
in the Parliament, that they might be unashamed to speak of
thee and of their trust in thy word. O Lord, do in mercy raise
up men that shall not fear man, but speak thy word faithfully. O Lord, what good is it and will
it be for a Christian to be in Parliament if they do not act
like a Christian, or their Christian faith has no bearing on how they
act, or they never let known whose they are and whom they
serve. O Lord, do grant that thy word
might be fulfilled, that thy people shall never be ashamed. Lord, leave us not to be ashamed
before this wicked and perverse generation, but Lord, do grant
unto us to truly embrace that difference and grace that thou
has made in our hearts. Lord, do keep us from sin, from
entering into it, and Lord, do lift up a standard against the
adversary when he comes in. Lord, help us now, divide thy
word, open it up to us, help us to speak faithfully, and cause
us to receive it, grant that day of power that we have read
of. We ask thee these things through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. God willing, I'm expected to
preach here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock, and next Lord's
Day at 11am and 6.30pm. Hymn, 278. Tune, St. Paul 62. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Psalm 110, and reading for
our text, verse 3. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the
worm of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. Psalm 110, verse 3, a psalm of
David. I want to begin by highlighting
this psalm as a messianic psalm, a psalm of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first verse, our Lord, when
he was assailed by the Sadducees, and by the Jews that came, trying
to trip him up and to ask him questions. Afterwards he asked
them a question based upon this son. And he says to them in Matthew
22 and verse 42, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he. They say unto
him, the son of David. He saith unto them, how then
doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, now this is the
quote from this son. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. So then the Lord asked them this
question, if David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And we read that none could answer,
nor did they ask him any more questions. David could clearly
see his Lord as being the eternal God in heaven. They were looking
for the idea that according to the generations, his son in his
line would come a son to sit on the throne. But our Lord says,
how is it that David is calling him Lord? How can he be at the
same time his son? And so we have a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal God, the Son of the Father, one
with the Father, and yet was to be made man. Emmanuel God
with us in the line of David, in David's line. It's a beautiful
text, a beautiful word that really exalts our Lord Jesus Christ,
Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah, as Christ, as Emmanuel, David's
Lord, and yet David's son. A mystery that The Jews, the
Pharisees that the Lord was speaking to then, they did not know, they
could not answer him. The second thing to bring before
you is that which is in Hebrews regarding the office of Melchizedek. We read in verse four, the verse
after our text, The Lord has sworn and will not repent, thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And we
read about Melchizedek in Genesis. It was he that met Abraham after
he came back from the slaughter of the kings in delivering Lot,
and Abraham gave him tithes of all, and Melchizedek blessed
him. And this psalm, it speaks of
an order after the order of Melchizedek, which the Apostle in Hebrews
6, in the end of that chapter, it speaks of that which enters
into within the veil in heaven, whither the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus, maiden high priest forever, after the
order of Melchizedek. And we have no doubt then that
what is spoken of in this psalm is our Lord Jesus Christ. The
order after Melchizedek is explained in chapter 7 of Hebrews, where
Melchizedek, we are not told about him, where he was born,
We're not told about father or mother or his descent at all. And the Jews, they said to the
man that was born blind concerning our Lord, that we know not this
man from whence he is. And of course, again, our Lord
is without beginning, without end. And through these psalms
and through these passages, the mystery of being both God and
man in one person and the offices of our Lord Jesus Christ are
set forth. The third passage that I would
refer to is in Ephesians. Ephesians 1 and verses 20 to
23. And we're told there of the power
of God that was wrought in bringing our Lord from the dead That is
the same power that is put forth in quickening a soul into divine
life. And as states here, this power
which he wrought to us, wrought who believe according to his
working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, might
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things
to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth
all in all. Now, we look at our text, we
look at the verses that surround it, beginning of the psalm the
Lord said unto my Lord sit down my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool so Paul writing to the Ephesians he says
hath put all things under his feet at his footstool and gave
him to be the head over all things to the church and we find in
Psalm 110 those two themes that are running through,
the Lord's dominion over his enemies, the Lord bringing them
into subjection, delivering from the world, the flesh, the devil,
principalities and powers, all being put under him, but also
his people, his church, for which he is their high priest forever,
and a people that by nature were unwilling, but are made willing,
in the day of his power, a people that are blessed. And these two
themes, we think of when the Lord shall come at the last great
day with power, great glory. Those that are not his shall
call upon the rocks and the hills to fall upon them, hide them
from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne. whereas his
people are to look up for their redemption, draweth nigh. We
think of in Noah's day, and those in the ark were safe, those out
of the ark were destroyed. Wherever the Lord is exalted
and lifted up, it is death to his enemies, it's life to his
people. The two things are always going
together, right through scripture. The Lord's deliverance of his
people out of Egypt, he dealt with Egypt. The Lord's deliverance
of his people going through the Red Sea, that one passage through
the Red Sea was life to the children of Israel, was death to the Egyptians. Our Lord is spoken of as that
stone, that those are blessed that fall upon him, but upon
whom he shall fall, they shall be crushed to powder. It is the
Lord Jesus Christ that, as it were, stands between life and
death. He shall and is the judge and
king over all of the earth. For his people, he shall be their
saviour. He is their saviour. And for
those outside of him, his enemies, he shall fall upon them with
great power and wrath. runs through the word as spoken
of in Isaiah 63, where the Lord stoning his garments with blood,
shed his blood to atone for his people's sin, and at the same
time, cross Satan's hand and delivered his people from all
that opposed them. So on to this evening, look at
this verse that concerns the people of God. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness
from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. And I felt especially these words,
made willing, shall be willing. I want to look firstly at thy
people. That's how our verse begins.
That's who these things are spoken about. And then secondly, the
day of Christ's power. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. And then I want to look at some
of the examples in scripture where the Lord's people have
been unwilling, whether in being called by grace or whether in
walking in the Lord's ways. And that has been changed and
they have been made willing. And there's many examples, we'll
only be able to look at a few of them in the Word of God. But firstly, thy people. is set
before us here as already being a people, thine people. When our Lord was to come, the
name that he was given was Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. Our Lord says, of his people,
thine they were, that is the fathers, and thou gavest them
name. The people of God are chosen
in Christ from the foundation of the world. They are elect
according to the full knowledge of God. They are a people that
have been loved with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving
kindness has the Lord drawn them. Or in the context here, there
is a work that has been and will be done upon them and in them
to make them a willing people. But already they are in the mind
and purpose of God a people. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world and those things
that are performed and done in time are those that have been
decreed and purposed by God. And especially this relates to
a people. This is a precious truth, a truth
though that many that have a name of religion, they really hate
this idea, they feel. that it takes away any opportunity
to be saved, that it makes salvation very narrow, it makes it that
we have no use in preaching the Gospel, in sending forth the
Word of God, because if everything is settled and the people of
God are settled, then, well, what is the point of anything? But revealed in the Word of God,
is how this people shall be made known as the people of God. It sets forth there is a people,
it sets forth how they are by nature and how they are born
into this world, and it sets forth how they are made to be
known as the people by themselves and by others round about them,
and that that work is God's work. The kingdom of God standeth sure,
having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And he doesn't
just know by a foreknowledge of a people that supposedly,
from some good in themselves, are going to exercise faith in
our Lord and in the sacrifice offered up at Calvary. No. What we want is that evidence
of God making known his people. And he's shown in the Word how
he makes them known. He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And why does the Lord begin a
work in any? He does because they are already
his people. Why is it that he perseveres
with them? Because they are his and they
are loved with an everlasting love and therefore with loving
kindness he has drawn them. The whole coming of our Lord
to this world, his sufferings in life, his sufferings in death,
everything that he went through is made of a particular love
to this people, a people that he knew that he would have to
suffer, bleed and die to redeem, and yet still agreed, still engaged
in that covenant to be their surety. You know, the Word of
God, it warns us about being surety for a stranger, because
if that stranger then cannot pay his debts, we will have to
pay all. It warns us because we don't
know that person. We don't know whether they're
trustworthy, whether we shall end up having to step in and
pay their debts or not. The Word warns us about that. We have the beautiful illustration
of Judah when Benjamin was called for by Joseph, of course they
didn't know who Joseph was, and Jacob did not want to let his
son Benjamin go. Judah said that he would be a
surety for him, and so that if anything was required of Benjamin,
then he would step in and pay that debt, and indeed he did. When the cup was found in Benjamin's
sack, then it was Judah that stepped forward and said he had
become surety, he would take the punishment. He would go in
Benjamin's stead. And it was upon that point that
Joseph revealed himself to his brethren. The thing with our
Lord though, he knew his people. He knew they were lost. He knew
they were under the sentence of death. He knew they were fallen
the same as all of the sons of Adam. There was no possibility
that he would not have to step in and pay their debt. When he
became surety, he knew he would have to pay the debt they owed. He knew what the cost would be. And really that warning in Proverbs
about being, for us to be a surety, highlights the great love and
mercy and kindness of our Lord to actually do so. What would
we do if we knew someone was already deep in debt and then
we agreed that if ever they became in debt that we would pay their
debt? Someone would say to us, they're
already in debt, there's no doubt about it, you are going to have
to pay. Well that was the situation with
our Lord and it shows forth His love to this people, thine people,
thine they were, and thou gavest them thee. And so the people
of God become our Lords by a second way, not only by choice, not
only by eternal love, not only by being given by the Father,
but by being purchased. Paul says, ye are not your own,
ye are bought with a price. wherefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit that are his. We are not made God's people
by anything that we do or anything that is done in time, but it
is revealed that we are God's people by what God does in us
and for us in time, and that is set forth in this verse in
what is done in the day of God's power. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power. So I want to look in this second
point, the day of God's power. One thing that must be said,
if this is a power of God that is to make a people willing,
that by nature they are unwilling. And that strength of unwillingness
is a very, very strong thing. It's good for us to engage in
evangelism, to really remember this. because we often come across
people that we speak to of the Word of the Lord, and they are
not even willing to listen, not willing to give any hearing time
at all, or to receive it at all. It's good for us to remember
that we all by nature are like that, and that God's power is
able to change that. and to make a people that were
unwilling to be willing. The word here, and you might
say it's in italics, but though there is not the underlying Hebrew
word, we would always remember that the words in italics are
needed. This is a translation, and so
to get the right meaning, we do need the words in italics. And I might say, well, speaking
on that, the titles over the Psalms, they also are part of
the inspired word of God. If you look at, especially I
think it is the Dutch versions, they always include that in the
first verse. And we should, when we're reading
the Psalms, read those titles. as part of the inspired Word
of God. For the Word before us, thy people
shall be willing. Like through scripture, there's
many shalls, there's many certainties. It's not might or may be. The Word to be conveyed is not
just thy people willing in the day of thy power, that is true.
But to convey the true meaning, it shall be. There's a certainty. And when we think of the power
of God, we speak of irresistible grace. We speak of that which
the Lord's word shall not return unto him void. It shall accomplish
the thing whereto he sent it. And who is he that saith, it
cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not, but who can
stay it when the Lord commands it, it cannot be withholden. And so the picture of the people
of God first are an unwilling people. We will not have this
man to rule over us. Our state by nature is a state
of hostility unto God, One of our hymns describes it, at peace
with hell, with God at war, in sin's dark maze we wander far. And the one point you might say
that's picked out here in our fallen nature is a willingness. We could pick out many things,
ungodliness, our worthiness, our lust, our rebellion, our
hatred, our anger, being just dead, spiritually dead, natural
person, not spiritual person. There are many things that describe
the condition that we are in by nature, and many things then
that are changed. We have no love to the Lord,
but when the Lord works, then we are given a love to the Lord. By nature we are unteachable. The Lord gives a teachableness. We have no life. The Lord gives
life. Pass by thee and bid thee live. They have a hearing ear. He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. There is many throughout the
scriptures, descriptions, of what we are by nature and how
the Lord changes that when he works in a synod. But the one
that is picked out here is willingness. Thy people shall be willing,
which implies as this that by nature, then they are not at
all willing. And without further going, and
I will go more into what is set forth here in willingness, let's
not just pass over this without thinking of this one evidence,
this one work of the power of God. Many Lord's people, they
can look at many aspects of things the Lord's taught them, what
they've gone through, what they've experienced, and seeking for
a true token or assurance that it is the Lord's work, that it
is the power of God, that they are a child of God, that the
things that God says he'll do to his people, he has done to
them. Well, let's not quickly pass
over this, but think of this. this mark of being made willing. And may the Spirit bear witness
to this, bring back to your remembrance, and it may be things that you
specifically have been unwilling in, but then been made willing. There's been a change, been a
difference that has been done. And God says here that this is
done by the power of God. We read in Ephesians, It's the
same power that brought up Christ from the dead as is used to quicken
a soul and make them into a believer. Then we think then, what is it
to be made willing? The first is in calling. When
the Lord calls his people, it is made willing. Willing to follow
the Lord Jesus Christ. work of God, when our Lord was
on earth, was to bid those to follow him. The effect of the
work of grace is why we read in Ephesians, was that the word
should be not just in word only, but also in power and in the
Holy Ghost in much assurance. And the effect was, ye became
followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much
affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. And if you trace the apostles
going through their ministry and from city to city, this was
the difference in every case. There was some that claimed to
them. There was some that followed
them. There were some that received the Word, they believed the Word,
they were willing to receive the Word, receive that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. And others were completely the
opposite, they were unwilling to hear the apostles, they were
unwilling to believe, they were unwilling to submit to any teaching,
any direction at all. And this was the great difference
between their hearers, those that claimed to them, those that
rejected. This is what the Lord said when
they went forth to preach, those that receive you, they are the
people of God, those that not shake off the dust from off your
feet, pass on. And the Lord said, he that receiveth
you receiveth me, he that receiveth me receiveth my father that sent
me and that willingness to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. We think
of the blessings of those that receive the word and that word
entered in. Without that willingness to receive,
there is a rejection of the word and a rejection of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to be made willing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
to be made willing to repent, that is, to turn away from sin
and evil and those ways that are not right. In the Apostles'
Day, all of the idolatry, all of the evils, all of the things
contrary to the Lord, are turning away from that, are turning to
the Lord. being made willing to obey and
to be obedient to the faith, to be made willing to take up
the cross, the cross of being a follower of the Lord. If they had persecuted me, they
would persecute you, said our Lord. And our Lord said, I've
given them thy word and the world hath hated them. And there's
a willingness to take up that cross and to be followers of
them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Willing to receive the word of
God and to walk in it and to be obedient to it is bound up
with calling, a free will offering. Now you might say, is there a
contradiction here? Because this is what those that
believe in the free will of man, they like to have it that, well,
this is all my will. And yet here we have two things
going together, don't we? We have a willingness which is
belonging to those people, thy people, And then we have power,
the day of thy power. So then how can we explain that?
On one hand it said it's willing. On the other hand, in effect,
it's saying they're forced to be willing. They're forced to
be this. But no, they're not. It's God's
power within that results in their willingness as a free will. not with any sense of being forced,
but willingly, lovingly walking in that way. And so this verse,
it puts those two things together, the power of God and willingness. By nature, we do not have a will
that is inclined to any good whatsoever. It's all the time
depraved, it is anti-God, It is away from the Lord and separate
from the Lord. And it needs the mighty power
of God to make that soul willing. So here is this blessed token. And you know, I believe it's
repeated right the way through life. We don't have a little
compartment and say this is My faith, this is my religious life,
this is my faith toward Christ, I'm willing that, but he's not
to have anything rest to do with my life. The Lord has a plan
and purpose for our life. And those paths that he'll lead
us in, sometimes, when we so want to do something, and the
Lord stops it up, that's very hard. It's hard to be willing
to be submissive to that. And yet the Lord is able to give
that submissiveness. It is hard to, as it were, relinquish
and willingly say, Lord, be thou the chooser. My hymn writer says,
choose thou the way and still lead on. Or like the psalmist
in Psalm 32, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse or as
the mule which hath no understanding, whose mouth must be held in by
bit and bridle, lest they come nigh thee. Have a nice eye. Thou shalt hear the word behind
thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it. when you turn
to the left hand, when you turn to the right, is a people that
then are directed right the way through their lives. Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? And many times through life,
there'll be those things that at first we say, no, I'm not
willing. I don't want to walk in that
way. I'm not going to do that. And
yet the Lord, by His grace and by His power, through providence
sometimes, He makes that person willing so that they, in a free
will way, walk in that way, that He'd have them to go. And some
of us, well, we can look back to one incidence like that, that
has mapped out our whole life. And I will mention just one in
my own life. And this was when I came to the
end of my apprenticeship as a fitter and turner maintenance. And I
was going into trainee drafting. And in my mind, I wanted to go
into a very big drawing office in a big firm. And I was unwilling. to go and work for a small firm. But I saw this advert for this
job for a small firm, and it exactly described my qualifications. So exact, I thought, well, I
must apply. So I applied for it, and to my
amazement, I got an interview. And the Lord so ordered it, the
day before I went for that interview, The teachers at the college where
I was going to for trade school, they said to me, do you want
to go up into Melbourne? We're going to look around the
drawing offices of the Board of Works, massive big offices. And I went with them. One student,
as it were, a 19-year-old with three teachers. And as I went
through that big office and I saw all these drawing boards and
saw One doing a little bit, passing it to another, another bit. And
I thought, I don't want to work in a big office like this. And
the next day, I went, and there was a drawing board in the corner
of the showroom of this little pump firm. And I went from being
unwilling to be willing, and they gave me the job. That job,
I was in for four years, brought through to design. They moved
their premises right opposite the firm that then the Lord gave
me the job that I had for 12 years and saw me move over here
and work for them three years over here. The link in the chain
for that one willingness, if I had not taken that small job,
the rest of my life would not have been the same provision
or same way at all. I always look at the Lord's providence
and what the Lord used in that way to just change my willingness,
make my mind open to go in a way that before it was completely
closed and the timing of it. Do you notice the timing when
the Lord changes our thoughts, changes what we want to do, makes
us willing And you say, well, that was just providence. Well,
you put it into this text, you say, this is the day of his power. Who moved those teachers to do
it at exactly that time? Who ordered all of these things?
Who made me to view these things and to change my mind in that
way? Very easy, we can just overlook
what God is doing and not realize what power is put forth. to be
able to do it. And many things then through
our lives. To be able to forgive someone
that has trespassed against us. To be able to walk in a way that
is glorifying to God and not according to the pride of our
heart or to the way that we would normally go. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. So I don't want to just
confine this to a call by grace, but something that we'll be able
to notice right through life, where first we're not willing,
and then that we are made willing. And just one, one token, one
work of God in his people, were evidence of his power upon them,
and in their circumstances ran about them. And so I want to
look in the third place at some of those examples in the scripture
where the Lord does this. Now I want to first emphasize
Lord Jesus Christ as the Eternal Son of God and what he accomplished
at Calvary, there he has purchased that divine right to do what
he will with his own. If this was just the naked power
of God, then people would say this is unjust, this is unfair,
why is the Lord taking notice of this people, why is he favouring
them above another, This people is a purchased people. They are
not only by gift, but by purchase. And we are to remember this.
All what the Lord does with his people has the mark of it. Blood
bought, purchased, suffered for, bled for, sin put away. They are Christ's people. And
we mustn't separate between what he has done at Calvary. He has earned or been given that
power and authority over his people to justly, righteously
do for them what they cannot do for themselves and by nature
don't want the Lord to do for them, but will always bless the
Lord for what he has done for them. I want to just briefly
mention a few. We think of Jonah, Jonah as a
preacher, at first not willing, running away from the Lord, and
then the Lord following with the wind, the storm, saving him
and sending him, making him willing at last to go and preach the
preaching that God had bidden him to do. We think of the case
of Moses, not willing at first at the burning bush to go, the
many arguments, the many excuses again and again. In the end,
the Lord was angry with him. Moses, he wanted the Lord to
send anyone but him. But in the end, Moses was willing. Moses did go, and he endured
many, many things throughout that wilderness journey. Made willing. One thing he found
hard at the very end, wasn't it? That he couldn't go into
the promised land. That was a thing he struggled
with. He was shown it far off, but because he had not sanctified
the Lord in smiting the rock when he was supposed to speak
to it, he was forbidden to that. Sometimes that's a hard thing,
isn't it? For us to be willing to submit to the Lord's saying
no. You cannot do that. That's not
going to be your life. That's not what is planned for
you. We think of Naaman the Syrian who so wanted to be healed of
his leprosy, but when Elisha did not do as he thought he would
do, then he was angry and he was upset. He wasn't willing
to go and dip seven times in Jordan, and to be healed not
that way. You think, what hope is there
for that man? He went away in a rage. How could
he be healed if he was so set upon not doing what was bidden
him? But his servants were used. They
came, and they spoke to him. They reasoned with him. They
said, if the man had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst
thou not have done it? All he's asked is to wash and
be cleaned. And he humbled himself. He did
do that. He was willing, and he was cleansed,
and he was thankful, and he did return thanks. We think of John
the Baptist. Our Lord came to be baptized
of him. But John Baptist said, I need
to be baptized of thee. But the Lord said to him, suffer
it to be so now. that we might fulfil all righteousness,
and he suffered him. But at first, John was not willing
to do that. But the Lord brought him to be
willing. You think of Peter, when the
Lord would wash his feet, thou wilt never wash my feet. You
think what hope there is that the Lord would get round that
defiance and refusal. If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part in me. Not my feet only, but my head,
my hands, everything he wanted suddenly changed. Just one word
from the Lord, and he changed from being unwilling to be more
than willing. And you see this picture. You
see Thomas. He'd heard about the others and
saw the risen Lord, but he wasn't going to believe. No. Except
I see. the print of the nails, put my
finger in them, and there is his wounded side, for thus my
hand in his side. I will not believe that one sight
of the Lord, since he saw him, how different my Lord and my
God. All that unwillingness was taken
away. And you think of those then,
the Lord just passed by when they were fishing, when they
were at receipt of custom. and just bid them to follow him,
and they did. They rose up, they followed him.
We think of Zacchaeus, come down
from the tree. I must abide at thy house. He
willingly received him, so willingly. Going back to the Old Testament,
we think of Ruth, willing to leave her own family, her land,
her gods. And she clave to Naomi, willing
to be a servant and to glean, willing to obey Naomi, do as
she obeyed her due in going to the threshing floor, petitioning
Boaz. You see the picture of willingness
that goes right through the Apostle Paul. not willing to believe
that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, persecuting the people
of God and those that called on his name. And the Lord then
meeting him on the Damascus Road, and suddenly he then is not only
willing to believe, but to preach and to suffer persecution, to
walk in the ways of the Lord. What a changed character, what
a different Character he was. We think later on when he had
the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him. At first
he wanted it removed away. And the Lord said, my grace is
sufficient for thee. And he was willing that that
should be so. That it wouldn't be taken away,
but grace was sufficient. Much rather then will I glory
in my infirmity that the grace of God may rest on me, the power
of God rest on me. You think the Philippine jailer,
locking up Paul, Silas, laying on them stripes, but then what
a change at midnight. He'd heard their praises, he'd
heard their prayers, the earthquake, he and his house brought to believe,
what must I do? to be saved. Leave on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. We think of Peter going
to Cornelius, Joppa, the very place that Jonah ran away from
so that he did not have to preach to the Gentiles. God would have
Peter to preach to the Gentiles, but he makes him willing. And
Peter, he says to those messengers, he says to Cornelius, It wasn't
right for a Jew to go and be with the Gentiles. But God has
shown me that I'm not to call that unclean, which he hath cleaned,
cleansed. And so he acknowledges that God
had given him this vision. He'd prepared him to go. God
knew the messengers were coming there. He didn't. God had prepared
his mind to receive them. And Peter is able to see this
preparation work. And so right the way through,
the Scriptures of Truth, you find those that at first were
unwilling, and then they had been made willing. First they
could not believe, then they are brought to believe. First
they would not walk in the Lord's ways, but then the Lord brought
them to walk. in his ways. And this then is
the mark set before us. Now there's one thing that I
do want to mention concerning the end of this verse. The Day of God's Power. In the
beauties of holiness from the worm of a morning thou hast the
dew of thy youth. All God's works are holy. They all come from his Holy Spirit
right from the very beginning of the work of grace, all what
is done is holy and pure. And we must be very clear of
this. There is no unrighteousness with
the Lord and all that comes from the Lord. There is no sin mixed
with it. There is no evil with it. It
is all pure. It is all holy. It is worked
by the Holy Spirit. The new birth is holy. All that
the Lord does is holy, right from the womb of the morning,
right from the beginning. And the blessing that the Lord
blesses his people with, the Lord has the due of thy youth. In other words, this people have
I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise. They are to be for the Lord,
for his honour and glory, And the Lord has that dew, that savour,
of the early days, the youth of his people. Often it is in
the first days when, called by grace, the heart is most tender,
most teachable, when first blessed with love, that love is most
ardent. A people that are set free to
worship, follow and serve the Lord and have that pearl of great
price and knowing. No wonder the Lord said to the
mad gathering, go home to thy friends, tell what great things
God had done to thee and had mercy upon thee and those that
he cured and healed. They were the best ambassadors. Come and hear all ye that fear
God and I will tell what he had done for my soul. Living monuments
of grace, and those who are able to bear witness of the power
of God, and especially where those round about them, because
Paul, he said, the Jews, if only they would say they knew the
manner of my conversation from my youth. They knew me in unregeneracy. They knew me when I was unwilling,
when I hated the Lord. They know the change, and he
testifies of that change, and that change is what is here.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. May we
have this token of being the people of God, that his power
has made us willing. May the Spirit shine upon specific
instances and ways that the Lord has made us willing. Amen. Hymn, 771. Tune, Rimington 395. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.