I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome once more this evening. May the Lord be pleased to meet
with us here and for those online, let us ask his blessing, let
us pray. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we grant Lord thy blessing upon our worship here this evening.
We do pray for the help of thy Holy Spirit and that thy power
might be to accompany the word to make the Lord Jesus Christ
precious to us. Grant, Lord, that help in the
windy day, and that the technology might hold out, we might still
have power, and that Thou wouldst grant unto us Thy word graciously. We ask through Thy name, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Hymn, 379. Tune, Vienna 517. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the First Book of Kings, and Chapter 8. We will
read from verse 22 through to 53. If you're joining with one
of our free Bibles, that is page 362. The First Book of Kings,
Chapter 8, Commencing reading. Sorry, reading
at verse 22. This is the dedication of the
temple, and the part that we are reading is Solomon's prayer. Verse 22. And Solomon stood before
the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation
of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven. And he said,
Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above
or on earth beneath. who keepeth covenant and mercy
with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart, who
hast kept with thy servant David my father, that thou promisest
him. Thou spakest also with thy mouth,
and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel,
keep with thy servant David my father, that thou promisest him,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit
on the throne of Israel, so that thy children take heed to their
way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let
thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant
David my father. But will God indeed dwell on
the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven
of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that
I have built Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant,
and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry
and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee today. That thine eyes may be opened
toward this house, night and day, even toward the place of
which thou hast said, My name shall be there. That thou mayest
hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward
this place, and hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant,
and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place,
and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest,
forgive. If any man trespass against his
neighbour, then an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear,
and the oath come before thine altar in this house, then hear
thou in heaven, and do and judge thy servants, condemning the
wicked to bring his way upon his head, then justifying the
righteous to give him according to his righteousness. When thy
people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they
have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and
confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in
this house, then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of
thy people Israel. and bring them again unto the
land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When heaven is shut
up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee,
if they pray toward this place and confess thy name and turn
from their sin when thou afflictest them, then hear thou in heaven
and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that
thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and
give reign upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people
for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine,
if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be
caterpillar, if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities,
whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be, what prayer
and supplication so ever be made by any man or by all thy people
Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart,
and spread forth his hands toward this house. Then hear thou in
heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to
every man according to his ways. whose heart thou knowest, for
thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children
of men, that they may fear thee all the days that they live in
the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover, concerning
a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out
of a far country for thy name's sake. For they shall hear of
thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out
arm. When he shall come and pray toward
this house, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according
to all that the stranger calleth to thee for. that all people
of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee as do thy people
Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have
built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle
against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall
pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen,
and toward the house that I have built for thy name. Then hear
thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain
their cause. If they sin against thee, for
there is no man that sinneth not, and thou be angry with them,
and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away
captives unto the land of the enemy far or near. Yet if they
shall bethink themselves in the land, whither they were carried
captives and repent and make supplication unto thee in the
land of them that carried them captives saying we have sinned
and have done perversely we have committed wickedness and so return
unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the
land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray
unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their
fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which
I have built for thy name. then hear thou their prayer and
their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place and maintain
their cause and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee
and all their transgressions wherewith they have transgressed
against thee and give them compassion before them who carried them
captives that they may have compassion on them. For they be thy people
and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of
Egypt from the midst of the furnace of iron. That thine eyes may
be open unto the supplication of thy servant and unto the supplication
of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call
for unto thee. For thou didst separate them
from among all the people of the earth to be thine inheritance
as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant when thou broughtest
our fathers out of Egypt. O Lord God. Thus far the reading
of God's holy word, the prayer of Solomon. Let us now come before
the Lord ourselves and come before him in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
Lord, we have read the prayer of Solomon, the inspired word
that thou hast given us. Lord, do hearken and hear that
as our prayer too. And O Lord, we thank thee that
we can come these many thousands of years after Solomon and that
thou art the same. The throne of grace is the same. And let us hear and answer prayer
and those petitions that we have read of and the circumstances
that give rise to prayer. Lord, those accompany us and
they are with us here in this gospel day. Do grant us also
to be encouraged and strengthened and helped in prayer. We thank
Thee for the great antitype of the Temple, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, and we thank Thee for His example further in prayer
whilst here on earth. O Lord, do grant unto us to know
the worth of prayer. answers to prayer, and Lord if
there are those gathered this evening that are in situations
that they have great need, their need is felt, where they may
be unsure whether it is something they can bring before thee in
prayer, or it may be something, some aspect of their trial, that
causes them to think that their prayers will not be heard, that
thou will not regard them. Be pleased to use thy word before
us this evening to take away those obstacles and hindrances
to cause that prayer might ascend where otherwise it would not
have. O Lord, thou didst while on earth give much encouragement
to pray, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. And, O Lord, we thank Thee for
the testimony throughout Thy Word, Old Testament and new,
that point us still to call upon Thy name. And we thank Thee,
Lord, where Thou hast been pleased to quicken us and cause us to
truly pray unto thee. O Lord, do grant unto us to have
those clear views of that way by which we come to God. We thank
thee for thy precious sin-atoning blood shed on Calvary. We thank
thee for the empty tomb, for thine intercession in heaven,
the abundant witness of the giving of the Holy Spirit of thine intercession,
I will pray the Father. He will give you another comforter
which will abide with you forever, tarry at Jerusalem until ye be
endued with power from on high. We need that power today. We thank thee that thou dost
still assure us that thy power does remain. For thou hast said,
I am with you all way even. unto the end of the world. And
we thank Thee that there are those of us that can bear witness
to Thy word received by power to deliver us from darkness and
bring us into light and to bring us to truly know Thee. Lord,
we do thank Thee for quickening grace and for that power which
the Apostle told the Ephesians was the same power that was put
forth to bring our Lord from the tomb. O Lord, we would not
underestimate that power that is needed to convert one soul. Lord, do remember those here
that may feel that there does need to be much power to make
any change in their hearts. Lord, we pray that we might know
that What the hemrider said was true. My heart will move at thy
command. Lord, do grant, Lord, that thou
hast sent help from the sanctuary. Strengthen us out of Zion. Grant thy quickening word that
those dead in trespasses and sins might be quickened into
life. That those that feel so helpless,
impotent, unable to move unable to believe that thou hast grant
that work which is the work of God that ye believe in him whom
God has sent. O Lord that which the law could
not do in that it was weak through the flesh do thou do. Lord we do thank thee for thy
finished work at Calvary and we plead for the outworking of
that the execution of thy last will and testament, that thy
people whom thou hast redeemed might be redeemed in their lifetime,
that they might know it, might feel it, might be set free, might
be delivered from every snare, might be given sweet hope through
grace and assurance of their interest in Christ, thy spirit's
witness with their spirit, that they are the children of God.
O Lord, we do see that thou hast worked in us to will and to do
of thy own good pleasure. So do bless us as we gather in
worship and make thy word effectual to the promised end, quickening,
keeping alive, feeding, nourishing, warning, directing and guiding. O Lord, do grant that we might
be able to say with Jeremiah, thy words were found, and I did
eat them, they were to the joy and rejoicing of my soul. Lord,
we commit each unto thee, we thank thee for the children here,
we pray thy blessing to be upon them, our young people as well,
to bless them in their lives, to provide for them, those godly
partners in life, make them godly and do grant, Lord, a true union
made in heaven and consummated on earth. Lord, we do pray for
that which thou hast joined together. And Lord, if it could please
thee to bless there to be a fruitful vine, a generation to praise
thee, the promise unto you and your children, even as many as
the Lord thy God shall call. O call each here by thy grace,
and do quicken into divine life. Hear prayer for this, we do beseech
thee. And, O Lord, do bless and be
with afflicted friends at this time, and do grant help for them,
and be with them in those afflictions. Bring safely through operations
this week, be pleased to bless the work done, grant healing,
grant help to those in hospital at this time, who thought they
would come out today but are not able to. Be with them, be
with their loved ones. Comfort those also in bereavement,
those who have suddenly entered into that path this last week.
Comfort them, be with those here affected. And Lord, do sanctify
and make to work for good these sorrowful things. Oh Lord, we'd
be pleased to be with each one so affected. Lord, we bring before
thee scattered families, loved ones, and friends. And Lord,
we be with dear friends in other countries. We thank thee for
those that join with us and we pray for them each. Especially
pray for dear friends in Holland. Lord, who grant thy blessing
upon our brethren there. Oh Lord, who Be with our churches
in Australia, America and Canada and throughout this land. Be
with thy servants, especially those making long journeys on
this day. With the wind and weather as
it is, keep them safe, watch over them. Be pleased to send
forth more labourers into the harvest. Remember the little
causes of truth and do sustain them, strengthen them, do cause they might not die,
but, Lord, do cause they might remain and flourish. We thank
thee, Lord, for thy mercies to us here. We pray that thou would
strengthen us and build us up and make us a blessing to the
people of Cranbrook as well as the wider field. We thank thee
for the provision that thou hast enabled us to continue thee distribution
of thy word, and we pray thy blessing on every copy that is
sent forth. We pray for the young people
that are at the school here in Cranbrook Grammar, those that
pass the doors here, many that we know will have had Bibles
from our Bible box, and it may be have gone back to the varying
countries they come from. O Lord, we water with our prayers
thy word, that thy blessing might be upon it. Lord, we thank thee
for thy governance over providence. Lord, it is nothing with thee
to steer and direct thy word right where thy people are, to
use it to direct them to the very page and the right place
that shall be blessed to them. O Lord, for this we pray and
would venture to continue in this work. O Lord, we do pray
that thou would remember this, our guilty land. Lord, at the
end of this week, we have the vote in Parliament on the assisted
dying bill. Lord, do be pleased to turn and
move the hearts of those of our representatives in Parliament. Where there are those that are
undecided, do decide them clearly. To vote against this, O leave
it not to be passed, and to go on to a third reading. We pray
it might be stopped this week. O Lord, hear prayer for this,
that this be not imposed upon us as a nation. O Lord, we thank
Thee for overturning it nine years ago. And Lord, we say that
once more Thou'st hear the prayers of Thy people, and that Thou'st
deliver us from this. that evil legislation, Lord,
do cause that it might fail. Lord, we do confess before Thee
the many sins of our nation. We are part of it. We pray for
wisdom for those in authority over us. We thank Thee that we
do have a democratically elected government and we do have those
that will seek to govern the country Lord, do cause their
ears to be open to good advice and shut to bad advice. We pray for our king and queen
and the royal household and seek thy blessing to be upon them. Lord, do remember the Church
of England at this time. And Lord, be pleased to raise
up to end those who shall truly fear thy name. and shall give
clear direction according to thy word. O Lord, remember us
in this land whom thou hast appeared for so many times in history,
and that thou hast been pleased to bless us with many freedoms
and blessings. O Lord, do return again to us,
grant that we might be a people of the book, and the secret of
our greatness to be thy word, as Queen Victoria stated, Lord,
do grant it might return so, and that thou has forgive our
many, many sins. Lord, hear prayer now as we come
to thy word. Remember, dear aged friends,
help them be with them, and be with those that bear the burden
and heat of the day, and those who may feel that they have been
passed by. We thank Thee that Thy word and
our own knowledge of those round about us does so confirm that
there is none aged too young and none too old to be converted,
to be called by grace and for Thee to bless. Lord, Thou art
sovereign, but Lord, do cause us each here to seek Thee in
the day when Thou mayst be found to make us urgent when we feel
so lifeless and hard and cold and prayerless. Stir us up, give
us life, fresh life, and may we be able to prevail upon Thee
in prayer that Thou is hear and that Thou is do and forgive.
We ask Thee these things through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. God willing, I'm expected to
preach here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock, the next Lord's
Day, 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. Hymn, 235. Tune, Grasmere 591. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to 1 Kings chapter 8 and reading
for our text verses 38 and 39. Verses 38 and 39. What prayer
and supplication so ever be made by any man or by all thy people Israel,
which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and
spread forth his hands toward this house. Then hear thou in
heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to
every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest. For
Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children
of men. 1 Kings chapter 8 verses 38 and
39. Knowing the plague of our heart
is the situation here that King Solomon is anticipating shall
be the case of the people of God. He is here dedicating the
temple and dedicating it with prayer. He's giving thanks that
the Lord has fulfilled what he said to David, his father, that
though David was not permitted to build the house, yet his son
would build it. And David had prepared abundantly
before his death, and here is Solomon standing with this house
built and giving thanks. It's a good thing, isn't it?
When we are in a position to stand and look upon the Lord's
work and maybe like Solomon, go back many years and see what
the Lord has done. He has promised, He has fulfilled
it, He's brought it to pass. There are many times in our lives
we may be like this, where we have perhaps wanted a home of
our own and the Lord's provided it. Maybe we've desired and prayed
for a husband, a wife, and the Lord's given that. Or we've sought
for children, the Lord's given us them. Or we have sought for
the spiritual life and blessing of our children, the Lord's granted
us that. Or where the Lord has laid a
burden upon our heart for something to pray for, and we're able to
come like Hannah did for this child I prayed. or this thing,
I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition that I asked of
Him." When David had been told that he should not build the
house, Nathan, the prophet, had told him that the Lord would
build him a sure house and bless him for years to come. or what
the Lord had said concerning his son that should raise up
and build the house. David says, is this the manner
of man, O Lord God? In one way it might be said,
is this the manner of man to tell the things that shall happen
in the future? But in another, the picture that
God had given was not just Solomon. It wasn't just a son, naturally. It was David's greatest son,
as if David would say, is this the manna of man? Is this the
seed of the woman? Is this the manna of Emmanuel? Is this the manna of Christ that
is to come? Shall this be what he shall be
like? my son. And of course the temple
here is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a type
even of the church. The foundation is Christ and
the Church of God is built up as lively stones in it and Christ
himself is the top stone. He is the first and he is the
last and his people are built in it. With Solomon's Temple,
there was no sound, there was no noise when it was being built. All was fashioned in the quarry,
and then it was all brought, and we think, especially as a
draftsman, every stone, every part of that building had a drawing. Every part was designed. It's
easy to overlook that, but every little part And they would have
had dimensions and tolerances so that they didn't get it into
place and think, oh, this is a little bit tight. Let's hit
this with a hammer and let's get it in place. It was exactly
done, exactly fashioned. For those of us who have anything
to do with building, whether architectural, mechanical, it's
a marvelous thing to think of what was done in the building
of that temple. But to think of how the Lord
fashions his people, how he works in their hearts, how he converts
them, how he prepares them, how he makes them to be sanctified,
made for the Master's use, put amongst his children, put as
part of his building, part of his church, built up in Christ
as what the temple was a beautiful type of. And here then is Solomon
realizing what the Lord has done. Surely in this gospel day, we
can look back not just to what David said and what the Lord
did for Solomon, but we can look back at all the promises right
through the Old Testament and that we can realise that the
Lord has come, that he has walked this earth, that he has suffered,
bled and died, he has put away sin, He has finished the work. He has ascended up into heaven. He carries there as our advocate
with the Father. He carries on there as the executor
of his own will. In verse 27 of this account, we read Solomon
saying, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven
and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this
house that I have built it. And we know that the Lord God
did indeed dwell upon this earth. In the Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel
God with us. What a miracle that this one
Solomon, he marveled how it should be. We in this gospel day can
say it truly was and we have the full record of how it was
and what God has fulfilled. May we have those sacred times
like Solomon to stand and view all what God has done, all the
provision of the gospel, all what has been laid up in store
and planned right from the beginning of the world to now, and is proclaimed,
and it is for the hope of the people of God. And if Solomon
is praying this prayer and is anticipating a people that will
need this prayer, that will need to be encouraged to pray like
this, how much more in this gospel day it applies, not just to Israel,
but to, as Solomon said, to all nations and to all people, that
this wasn't just to be for their nation. And so we have in the
prayer, Solomon anticipating various things, he speaks of
in verse 31, those that trespass against a neighbour, an oath
laid upon them. He speaks in verse 33 of those
smitten before the enemy. And then in verse 35, where there
is no rain, and it is because the people had sinned against
the Lord. And verse 37, there's famines,
there's pestilences, and again, the people of God have sinned. Not a plague outside, not a plague
in the land, but a plague in the heart. The plague of the
heart. And this is one of the things
that Solomon anticipates will be. What prayer and supplication
so ever be made by any man or by all thy people Israel, which
shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread
forth his hands toward this house. Then hear thou in heaven thy
dwelling place, and forgive and do, and give to every man according
to his ways, whose heart thou knowest, for thou even thou only
knowest the hearts of all the children of men. trying to look this evening at
the Lord's helm. Firstly, the plague, the plague
of the hunt. And then secondly, a case for
which prayer is to be made. And thirdly, a case for the God
of heaven to deal with, deal with graciously, mercifully,
But firstly, the plague of the heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
was upon earth, he spoke of what is in the heart of man. In Matthew
15, we read our Lord saying this, Out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts. Murders, adulteries, fornications,
deaths, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. Those things our Lord sets forth
are in the heart of man. But our text says, which shall
know every man the plague of his own heart. And there's several
things to note here. By nature, we are dead in trespasses
and sins, and we do not know what our heart really is. We need the Lord to spy out our
heart. As the hymn writer says, no wisdom
of man can spy out his heart. It must be the Lord to come and
shine there and to show what really is in the heart. And so
the emphasis here is on one that shall actually know it. And it is known as a plague. A plague, something that brings
death with it. We read when David numbered Israel
and then the Lord brought a plague there, brought the pestilence,
how many died. We know what it is to have the
plague in this land. We have churches standing in
the middle of nowhere as it were, Horseman Den where whole communities
with the Black Death, they moved away and all was left standing
was the church. And this plague, to actually
have it in the heart, In scripture, there is a likeness to leprosy. Leprosy that needed to be discerned. Was it real or was it just something
that looked like leprosy? And it was the priest that had
to decide this and there was many laws and regulations to
decide. whether this was really a proper
plague. And conviction of sin and to
know the plague of our heart also needs to be discerned and
known. It is one thing to just know
it in word, but again, as the hymn writer says, but O to feel
cuts deep beyond expression. You have a little picture of
it with the publican in the temple beating upon his breast, standing
afar off, God be merciful to me, a sinner. He felt that sin,
he felt it in his heart. What is spoken of here is Not so much outward, though it
may break out because our Lord said that it is from the heart
that these things proceed, it begins there. But the verses
here, it is the Lord that knowest, in verse 39, thou even thou only
knowest the hearts of the children of men. What is meant there? Why is it the Lord only? Well,
we can't tell what is in another person's heart, we can't tell
what's going on, but we can't tell what is going on really,
and to be, really see it ourselves. But the Lord does. And in a way,
there is a great encouragement. I would say to the encouragement
of any of you here, that would say, well, I once did not know
what was going on in my heart. I did not register, I did not
feel, I did not, was not worried by it, I was not troubled by
it at all, but now I am. Now I see things like with Ezekiel. It was turned again, thou son
of man, thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he was turned to see again
and again in Jerusalem, abominations being committed, and it's like
that with our hearts. We might think that they are
clean, that there's nothing wrong there, but then the Lord brings
things into our life and up rises anger, up rises pride, up rises
bitterness and enmity and hatred, up rises rebellion against God,
And we don't have to call it forth. Things can happen. We can hear about them happening
amongst the churches, amongst our loved ones. We can read it
in the news. And before you know it, there's
rising up. Why did God allow that? Why did he do that? And
there's that rebellion. You think, how can I think that
against God? Why am I right? I didn't know
I had that enmity and hatred against God in my heart. But
these things are brought forth. And the Lord knows how to show
these things and to bring these things out. We think of the covetousness
of Judas Iscariot. The Lord knew it. And we think
of Gehazi as well. We think of Ananias and Sapphira. And in the case of Simon the
sorcerer, who thought in his heart he could
purchase with money the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those things
in the heart, many of those with him and with Ananias and Sapphira,
it didn't trouble them. They schemed, they designed,
they had these things working in their heart. But when the
Lord convicts of that, when his intention is to bring a person
to know themselves as a sinner, to bring them in guilty, to bring
them as convicted. It is not to crush them. It is
not to destroy them. It is to make them know the malady
before he applies the remedy. What would we do if we went to,
were in a doctor's and maybe we'd gone to see them for something
mild? Not too serious at all. And that
doctor looked at us and said, oh, I just want to do some other
tests. He said, there's nothing wrong
with me. It's just this what I've come in to see you about.
He said, no, I'd like to do some other tests and maybe a scan
to show what is actually inside us. And he says, well, he says,
you've really got something wrong here. There's something that
really needs attention. It needs an operation. It needs
treatment. You wouldn't turn around and
say to that doctor, why on earth did you tell me that? I didn't
want to know that. I didn't come here asking for
that. And the doctor would say, well,
I'm not telling you to crush you. I'm telling you with the
intention to get it healed. I mean, I say that with what
the Lord does when he shows sin to his people. It is that he
will show the remedy. And he's not this, the whole.
idea of the temple, the whole idea of our Lord Jesus Christ
as the saviour of sinners, and the prayer that is being put
up here. And it's good for us to really
identify what is being asked for here. And if we think of
it like leprosy, it had breakings out, mostly it was inward, it
was felt, not seen, but it had a separating effect. Unclean,
unclean, separated from others. And sin has that effect. Makes
us to feel, like Ruth said, I am not like unto thy handmaidens. I am the chiefest of sinners.
Not worthy, says the apostle, to be called an apostle. because
I persecuted the people of God. He says, the good that I would,
I do not. The evil that I would not, that
I do. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? The working of sin
within the heart is known and is felt by the people of God,
and this description of it as being a plague is a very real
description. Whatsoever plague, whatsoever
sickness there be, sin is a sickness. All are sinners, but few so are
in their own sight. And few mourn over it, few have
trouble because of it. And with the picture that is
here, the person in whom this is cannot deliver themselves
from it. They cannot stop that plague. They cannot cure themselves.
They cannot turn over a new leaf and be better. They cannot change
their heart. That is the picture here. And
that is why they must pray. What is it that God uses to make
that heart known and felt? One is the law. By the law is
the knowledge of sin. The Apostle Paul said that before
The commandment came, I was alive without the law once. But when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died. The commandment was, thou shalt
not covet. It wrought in him all manner
of evil concupiscence. The commandment stirred up the
evil. You only know what if you have
small children, And to make them want to do something wrong, you
forbid them to do it. And they'll immediately want
to do it. You say, don't go to that place, and immediately they'll
want to go to that place. Our hearts are like that. They're
rebellious. They are like our first parents. God said, thou shalt not eat
of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Immediately,
devil comes and tempts them to take it, and they do. The children
of Israel, given the laws of God, even at the very giving
of it. Mount Sinai, the very first commandment,
thou shalt have no other gods before me, and there they make
the golden calf. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. The law says Paul is a schoolmaster
unto Christ. It is used to show our true state. When Paul writes the Romans,
he says that all the world might become guilty before God. The
law of God was never given to give life. By the deeds of the
law shall no man living be justified. By grace, you say, through faith,
they're not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works. lest any man should boast. We
in Adam already broke the law. We already are under the sentence
of death. Already that is past. And what
we need is the remedy. And the remedy is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the encouragement in this
text and in this verse is that it identifies the malady In the
way that God shows it to his people, how they feel it. They feel it as a plague. They feel it as a sickness. They
feel it as something that will bring death. They feel it as
something that they cannot manage and cannot deal with themselves. The cause that is too hard for
you, bring it unto me. And I will hear it really in
all Solomon's prayer. This is like that. These different
causes, two heart, bring it, bring it to me. But especially
in this that deals with our heart, deals with sin, the plague of
the heart. Do we know it? Do we know anything
of it. Has there been a change? Those
of us who have been brought up under the sound of the truth,
we've heard about sin, we've heard about even the plague of
the honed heart, but has there come a time when we've actually
felt it to be so? When we've been groaning under
it, when it works and festers and is evidenced by our thoughts,
by either affections, either desires, by anger, by hardness,
by rebelliousness, by godlessness, by thoughtlessness, carelessness,
the thought of foolishness is sin. Evidence in so many ways is like
a spring of water. We used to, when we were children,
play on springs or play on water and you tried to stop it up and
you put a bit of soil on this place and it stopped the water
breaking out there and then it'd break out somewhere else. So
you quickly go and try and stop that and it'd break out somewhere
else and you couldn't stop it. It just kept on coming out and
that is what sin is like. So what is? The case, what is
the real case? Well, the word of the word, the
message of the word here is in our second point, and that is
a case for which prayer is to be made. That's very helpful, isn't it? When we can have a clearly identifiable
case and say that one who has that case, one who is in that
situation, is called by the wholly inspired Word of God to pray. And it's looking to a specific
place. In verse 38 at the end, And spread
forth his hand hands toward this house. The prayer is towards our Lord. Daniel, three times a day, the
house was destroyed, but he still opened his windows toward Jerusalem
and he still prayed that way. Daniel, man of faith, he knew
what that temple set forth. He was one looking unto the Lord,
unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Unto he that should come, the
heaven of heaven is not containing him, and yet he come upon this
earth. Look unto me and be ye saved,
or the ends of the earth. For I am God and there is none
else. Here's a beautiful example for
us. However sinful, however vile,
however unclean, however much it's a plague that goes on and
on and on, however much the devil says, if the Lord had a favor
to you, he'd stop this plague, you wouldn't be a sinner, or
you should be able to just apply the word of God, and you should
be able to stop this plague yourself. The advice and direction here
is, to pray. And remember what the Lord said
to the publican as he beat upon his breast and pleaded for mercy. He went down to his house justified
rather than the other, free from condemnation, free from guilt. Naturally, we like to think,
well, if we're coming to prayer, we want to bring something good.
The Pharisee thought he was bringing something good. The Lord didn't
think so. But when we come empty, when
we come as sinners, when we come feeling the plague, that is the
prayer that the Lord heals. Real prayer. Sometimes it may
be as we go to the very attitude of prayer. Maybe we think we
have nothing, we can pray. And then in comes into our mind
all manner of evil thoughts. If that happens, You turn those
evil thoughts into prayer. You turn those things that are
actually plaguing and festering the heart and bring them to the
Lord. You might say, well, the Lord
knows anyway. Yes, it tells us here. Thou, even thou only knowest
the hearts of all the children of men. But he'd have us to tell
him. He'd have us to bring it before
the Lord. If we confess our sins, He's
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. On the gospel side, with the
heart man believeth, with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. On both sides of it, when sin
is felt, then it is to be confessed and brought in prayer. When we
believe in the heart, then that is to be confessed as well, outwardly
before men. And so, it is a very real thing when we
pray and cry to the Lord in our trouble, a case for which prayer
is to be made. Bring it to the Lord. What prayer
and supplication shall ever be made by any man, or by all thy
people Israel, which shall know every man? It is if the Holy
Spirit would not have any exclude themselves. Whatever prayer and supplication
by any man, by all thy people Israel, which shall know every
man the plague of his own heart. Really, we read regarding chastening
in Hebrews 12, the Lord chasteneth every son whom he receiveth. And here we might say the parallel
to it. Everyone that is saved is saved
from their own evil heart, saved from their own sins, His name
shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins. And these are the sins that are
known and felt in the heart. Dear soul, do pray, do bring
it before the Lord. Don't be discouraged. Remember,
it is only God that can really show you your sins. And you might say, well, if I
was being shown sin, like the people of God, then wouldn't
I mourn over it more? Or wouldn't I cease from doing
it? I don't feel I'm the right sort
of sinner. And there's kind of in your mind
you want to be a nice, neat, gracious, godly sinner. nor a
hell-deserving, hardened, sinful wretch that can only come pleading
mercy. The Word of God doesn't make
sin a very pretty thing, and it's not as it's seen within
us either. It is a case for prayer. Still
pray, for God will all explain Nor shalt thou seek his face
in vain. The hymn writer, I think it's
hymn 379, speaks of the prayer in that way. And well, we sung
379. There's another hymn I'm thinking
of. And may we be really encouraged
to come again and again before the Lord with this burden. You know, the devil can't achieve
much. Sin can't achieve much. If all
it results when it breaks forth is we keep going and going to
the throne of grace. We keep going and going to the
Lord. But the Lord doesn't mean us
to go and he not do anything. So I want to look in the third
place, a case for the Lord of heaven to deal with. Often we think, well, we'll pray
and now we'll deal with it ourselves. We have a living God, a God who
has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, a God who has shown
that he is able to raise the dead, literally, he is able to
change the mad Gadarene, he is able to change those that have
been very afflicted in many different ways. and those that came as
sinners, and mercy upon and forgive and pardon their sins. And so
the petition here is, three things as it were, then hear thou in
heaven thy dwelling place. Prayer's a wonderful thing that
God should hear. Psalmist says, be not silent
unto me. lest if thou be silent unto me,
I become like them that go down into the pit. That's to think,
here is this beautiful prayer, an intercession of Solomon, and
one thing he's asking, and may we feel impressed for us and
on our behalf, the Lord will hear your prayer. Hear thou in
heaven. And forgive. Why? Because of sin. The plague
is sin. The things that are brought into
our lives because of sin. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. There is forgiveness with thee
that thou mayest be feared. And do. You might tremble at what follows
here, Do and give to every man according to his ways whose heart
thou knowest. You say, if the Lord dealt with
me according to my sins, I'd perish. I am the Lord, I change
not, wherefore his sons of Jacob are not consumed. If we were
to say, well, the Lord has come to save people that are not sinners,
but he's come to save sinners, So what is the difference here?
Instead of a hardened sinner, instead of a careless sinner,
instead of a prayerless sinner, you've got a sinner who is convicted,
a sinner who is concerned, a sinner who is troubled, a sinner who
is praying, a sinner who looks for forgiveness and pardon, a
sinner who's begging for mercy, We can have those who are doing
the same sins, who have the same sins in their heart, and yet
how they view them and how they act, very, very different. And the Lord knows how we are
acting. I remember reading, I think it
was one of Mr. Ramsbottom's books, concerning
Satan. He cannot know our thoughts.
but he observes us and suitably lays his baits. And I've often thought on that,
if Satan can inject thoughts into our minds, he's 6,000 years
of experience in so doing, and if we didn't have the ability
to know what was going on in someone's heart. And we're told
here, not even Satan, no man, only the Lord knows what's going
on in the heart. But if we could lay, like Satan
does, lay baits, lay temptations, put thoughts, put suggestions,
and then we stand back. If we could be, as if we were
just an observer of a person, How are they going to react?
We know what we've set before them. We've known what we've
tempted them with. How are they going to react? Do they show signs of distress? Signs of trouble? Do they immediately
go to prayer? Or do they sit and muse and start
to go along the way of that temptation, start to indulge in, Follow it
in and you think, ah, I've got them. They've taken it. They've
taken the bait. They're going with what I've
done. Satan can observe that. And of
course, the Lord knows that. The Lord knows how it is when
sin is within, whether it does cause distress. And sometimes
that distress will be because we don't feel it as we feel we
should feel it. How many Lord's people could
you go to and say, do you feel sin as you feel you should? And
they say, yeah, I do, yeah. I'm really convinced of sin,
and I'm really in trouble for sin, as I should do. I think
each one of us would say, no, I'm not. I would that I was more
tender, had more of the fear of the Lord, more quickly ran
away from it, instead of being like the hymn writer says, the
easiest fool. that Satan ever had. Solomon's prayer points the Lord
to the Lord to do and to help, to appear for his people, send
help from the sanctuary, deliver them, save them. He is the one
that changes the heart, renews the will. If the Son shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. If he gives peace, and I know
this, I've felt this, The Lord take away all of that evil that
is within and there be a peace, be a great calm. What a difference
it is when there's been just a clamour of noise. Recently,
a week or two back, I was preaching at West Row and they've got the
airfield close by and through the service, right through, it
was quite a battle to preach against the noise of the jets
and taking off from the airfield. And then towards the end of the
sermon, and the benediction was just a quiet and the contrast
and the difference was so different and I've known that in my soul
too and that's very sacred when there's been such turmoil, such
sin, such trouble and then the Lord has given peace and quietness
and joy and peace in believing And the Lord does that. Yes,
sin returns, and we feel its plague again, we feel its trouble
again, but the Lord is the same, and the throne of grace is the
same, and the invitation to come again is the same. And as often
as sin breaks out, because we will remain sinners while we
are here below, but it's a blessed thing to know this path that
Solomon sets before us here. to come, to plead the precious
name of Jesus, to be looking there to his precious sin-atoning
blood, to be trusting in his salvation. May that be our blessed lot and
may the Lord be pleased to appear for us and deliver us in our
times of need. Be clearly able to see this is
a case that the Lord would have me pray, and this is a case that
the Lord will do. He will hear, He will appear
in His time and way. Still pray, for God will all
explain, nor shalt thou seek His face in vain. Amen. Hymn, 1056. Tune, Mayford 367 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.