I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome here this evening. May the Lord help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven
and of earth, do we please to grant thy blessing, thy help
this evening. Above all, thy Holy Spirit's
aid, that power of God that bringeth salvation. What is spoken in
weakness, do raise in power. And Lord, do take the fruit of
our lips, May there be praise and honour and glory to thy great
name. We ask for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn, 131. Tune, Grasmere 591. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the book of Psalms, two Psalms, Psalm 12,
and Psalm 66. If you have one of our free Bibles,
it's in the centre of the Bibles, page 552. The first Psalm, Psalm
12. To the chief musician upon Shemeth,
a Psalm of David. Help, Lord, for the godly man
ceaseth. for the faithful fail from among
the children of men. They speak vanity every one with
his neighbour, with flattering lips and with a double heart
do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering
lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. who have said,
with our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own, who is
Lord over us. For the oppression of the poor,
for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety from
him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure
words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord,
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side
when the vilest men are exalted. Thou some, 66. To the chief musician, a song
or psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God,
all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of his
name. Make his praise glorious. Say unto God how terrible art
thou in thy works, Through the greatness of Thy power shall
Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee. All the earth shall
worship Thee and shall sing unto Thee. They shall sing to Thy
name, Selah. Come and see the works of God. He is terrible in His doing toward
the children of men. He turneth the sea into dry land. They, he turned the sea into
dry land. They went through the flood on
foot. There did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power forever. His eyes behold the nations. Let not the rebellious exalt
themselves, Selah. O bless our God, ye people, and
make the voice of his praise to be heard, which holdeth our
soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou,
O God, hast proved us, thou hast tried us, as silver is tried,
thou broughtest us into the net, Thou laid'st affliction upon
our loins, Thou didst cause men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through
water, but Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I will go into Thy house with
burnt offerings, I will pay Thee my vows, which my lips have uttered
and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. I will offer
unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of
rams. I will offer bullocks with goats,
sealer. Come and hear, all ye that fear
God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth
and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me, but verily God hath heard me. He
hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God which
hath not turned away my prayer. nor His mercy from Maine. Lord, bless to us that reading
of His holy word, and help us in prayer. Just praying. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we thank Thee for Thy holy, inspired and infallible Word, that which
Thou hast given to us in our own tongue, so that we might
understand it, that we might have it in our hearts. And O
Lord, we do pray Thy blessing upon it, that the power of God
might be within, that Thou'st give us understanding, and cause
us to understand Thy Word. Cause us also to be able to apply
it unto our own lives, to be able to see how relevant it is
to us, and that we might hear Thy voice speaking to us through
Thy Word. Nor do be pleased to bless us
then as we read it, whether in public or in private, that it
might be as thou hast said, that heaven and earth shall pass away,
that my words shall not pass away. O Lord, we do seek thy
blessing in each soul here. May each one be precious in thy
sight, and thou be pleased to grant salvation, grant eternal
life, grant a hearing ear, grant each one to be quickened, by
thy Spirit, and that they might be brought to true, saving faith
in thee, to have joy and peace in believing, and to rejoice
in God their Saviour. O Lord, do be pleased to grant
that work to each here, and Lord, those that listen online, and
those that shall hear. the recorded services afterwards. Oh Lord, do be pleased to send
forth thy word. We pray, Lord, for those in this
land and those in other lands who have joined with us from
time to time. Lord, do be with them, they'll
know us their path, they'll know us where they are and all that
concerns them. And Lord, do help and undertake
for them and strengthen them in thee and in thy ways. And
Lord, if it could please thee to provide a sound church where
they may attend. Lord, do be pleased to remember
those that pray and long for that and do make us thankful
where thou has given us each other in the Lord and where thou
has granted us brethren that we may walk together with and
meet together with. We pray for thy dear servants,
each one this evening. Lord, remember those that will
have long journeys after the day to return to their homes. We pray for those that are relocating
to take up pastorates, to be with them, help them and their
families, especially where it is into another land. Lord, we do pray that those be
with our churches overseas and to provide for them those pastors
that shall be with them and feed them. We thank Thee for the means
that we do have of communicating over the miles, so many changes
in the years that we have been here. But O Lord, we do prize
that gathering together around Thy word. As we begin another
week, we do commit it unto Thee Do grant us Thy care, Thy strength,
Thy help throughout the week. Keep us from evil, that it grieve
us not. And do grant, Lord, it might
be a time now, please, to bless our souls. Bless that already
attended to this day in the earlier part of it. Again, we do give
thanks unto Thee for the deliverance that Thou has given to this nation
in years past. Lord, we would remember Thy mercies
to us in the war years, and not only to us, but to Europe as
well. Lord, for in delivering Great
Britain, now it is deliver Europe, and we thank Thee for that deliverance,
the miracles at Dunkirk, Normandy, and in the Battle of Great Britain.
We do thank Thee for these things and give Thee the honour and
glory due unto thy name. We thank thee that thou didst
raise up a generation then of mainly young men that were willing
to serve. And O Lord, do grant that there
might yet be those generations that shall be useful and that
shall be willing to serve and willing to do good for a country
and not evil. O Lord, we thank Thee for the
years of peace, relative quietness in our land. But O Lord, we do
pray that we might not be lulled into a false sense of security. O Lord, we have sinned. We've done evil. We've cast Thee
behind our backs. We've gone our own way. We exalt
men, but not Thee. And Lord, we do confess our many
sins as a nation and personally. And Lord, we know that from thy
word there shall come even more wars and there shall be distress. of nations, O do grant us to
have that hope beyond the grave, that it might be said, fear not
them that kill the body, and after that there's nothing more
they can do. Lord, who grant us thy fear in
our hearts, and that we might know it is well with us, while
life endure and well when called to die. Lord, we know we must
die, we must return to the dust. and do grant then that thou hast
delivered us from our old nature, that would shut out the things
of eternity, that love's ease, that would shut out thy word,
that would be careless, indifferent, and want those pleasures for
a time, even sinful ones, and neglect that which is for our
soul's eternal good. O save us from ourselves, save
us in spite of ourselves, and do deliver us from ourselves,
and do grant, Lord, that we might, by thy grace, be what thou wouldst
have us to be. Do grant us grace and help to
use the means of grace rightly and to order and fashion our
lives as if we were those that were waiting for our Lord and
really do desire salvation. O Lord, do give help in this.
We feel so poor, so weak, how we know what to do but don't.
And Lord, we do seek that help for each here to walk in that
way of which we may be said that while I was in the way that the
Lord met with me. Lord, make us to be like those
on the way to Emmaus. Make us to be of those that doubt
us, draw near and speak with us by the way. O Lord, forgive
and pardon our many sins and many iniquities. Wash and cleanse
us. Do grant us repentance, godly
sorrow for sin, and grant us thy righteousness. We pray for
those that are sick and unwell. Lord, do grant full healing to
those that have had operations. Do strengthen them and do be
with them through these fiery trials. Lord, be with their loved
ones as well and support them. Be with those, O Lord, who have
changed homes, bless and sanctify that new home that they have. Lord, do remember those that
may take up new posts and new paths before them and walking
in paths they have not known. Do be pleased to help them and
be with them. Be with our young people and
children, we thank Thee for them here, to guide them in life's
pathway, call them while they're young, and may they learn to
trace Thy goodness and trace Thy hand in their lines. Be with our dear aged friends,
we thank Thee for Thy servants in increased years that are still
able to preach, and we thank Thee for them. We pray, Lord,
for Thy servants that seek a home to appear for them and provide
home next to and close to their chapel and where they pastor
and we say Lord that thou has appeared for them in those things. We thank thee for thy mercies
where thou has provided in such a way. Now Lord hear prayer for
the people of Cranbrook and those round about us here Lord, hear
prayer for us as a church and people to build us up and strengthen
us and to fill this house with hungering, thirsting souls. We
ask thy blessing on the Bibles that are taken through the Bible
box and those through the Bible offer. Lord, bless those who
have received them, cause them to read thy word, make thy word
effectual to their hearts, and do cause them to worship in a
place of worship near them, especially where we have sent and where
we have given that information, Lord, do cause that we might
yet hear, where thou hast brought a people to know thee and to
be amongst thy people and a blessing to them. Lord, we plead thy word
that thy word shall not return unto thee void, but we would
inquire of thee for this and ask thee for it. Now, Lord, do
grant thy Spirit's aid, shine upon thy word, and do bless us
indeed. Lord, we ask thee these mercies
through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Announcements, God willing, I'm
expected to preach here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock and
next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The Bibles that
have been distributed during October, the Bible boxes from
the chapel here in our home, 25, and the web offer, 48, being
a total of 73 Bibles distributed in the last month. We value your
prayers for the Lord's blessing on his word. Hymn, 245. Tune, Boston 305. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 66 and reading for our
text, verse 12. Thou hast caused men to ride
over our heads. We went through fire and through
water. but thou broughtest us out into
a wealthy place. Psalm 66 and verse 12. Through fire and water. Not left in it, but entering
in and passing through and the other side into a wealthy or
large place. This psalm begins with a statement
of the Lord's power and works over all of the earth, or all
lands, earth in the margin. And it is good for us to know
that universal power of the Lord, that He is the King of kings
and Lord of lords, and that none can do anything except the Lord
permits, even is there evil in a city, and the Lord has not
done it. The Lord is not the author of
sinful evil, but things that we would call evil and calamities,
things that men do, things that come upon us. We must believe
that the Lord is in control, that there's not a situation
that man is able to just do what he wants, or Satan does what
he wants, and the Lord is helpless and powerless to stand by him. Solemnly some ministers would
even portray the gospel in that way, in that the Lord has suffered
on Calvary for everybody, they say. And now he is waiting and
longing for people to believe and to accept the gospel, and
he is powerless, waiting for men to respond. Such a perversion of the Word
of God, the majesty of God, the power of God. And what God does,
he is in complete control, and that is in salvation as well
as in the events of the world. It does pose sometimes a real
problem or challenge to the people of God. Many times the world
will stumble at it. If the Lord is a good God, and
if He is in control, then why do bad things happen? Why do
we have to go through these things? Why can't He prevent it? Why
can't He stop it? Why doesn't he stop it? Why does
he allow bad things to actually happen? We would, of course, remember
the path that our Lord and Savior himself walked. I find often
when these sort of questions come, it's good to go right to
the path our Lord walked. Because when we think of our
text, thou hast caused men to ride over our heads, we went
through fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into
a wealthy place. When we think of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, who came into this world, was made flesh
and dwelt among us, he came to his own, his own received him
not. And there were many. He endured
the contradiction of sinners against himself. His own people
rose up against him. At the last, they all forsook
him and fled, his own disciples. And then the Romans, they crucified
him. Peter describes it and he says
that that was delivered by the determinate counsel and full
knowledge of God ye have taken, and by wicked hands crucified
and slain. And we can picture then our Lord
coming, our Lord passing through fire, water, or great tribulation,
and at the hands of men, and yet through that, through the
cross, behold the crown, the resurrection, His ascension,
His place in glory, His power, what God accomplished and brought
about in the crucifixion of His beloved Son, an offering acceptable
unto God, and in that one offering, all the Church of God is redeemed,
is saved, is loosed from Satan's bondage and that they are brought
to heaven. And when we can see what the
tribulation and what our Lord went through and that he had
to go through it, if it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless
not my will but thy will be done not just at the end, but right
through his life, he must go through, he must be obedient,
and even obedient unto death, and it's only through that way
that he could have the glory that was given him, the glory
of redeeming his people, that he should be the captain of their
salvation. And it's good for us to look
upon that and think, how can we expect a different path. If God's only begotten Son, if
our Captain, if our Redeemer endured that, if God would not
spare His own Son, if He would not alleviate His suffering or
His path, but He must pass through it, so we also must pass through
it. And as the Lord is like the first
fruits, and he's ascended up into heaven, and his eyes that
where he is, there his people will be. So the outcome, the
end of this verse, also is sure as well. Thou broughtest us out
into a wealthy or large place. So I want to Look this evening,
firstly God is in control. We have that verses 1 through
to 8. And then the way, the way through
fire and water, that is trials and that is described really
in verses 9 and 11. And then lastly, the place brought
to, a wealthy place, spiritually so. But firstly, God in control. In the beginning of the psalm,
we have this armist to sing forth honour to his name. Say unto
God, how terrible art thou in thy works, through the greatness
of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. Verse 5, Come and see the works
of the Lord, his terrible in his doing toward the children
of men. And then there's a reference
to bringing the children of Israel through the Red Sea. He turned
the sea into dry land. They went through the flood on
foot. There did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power forever. His eyes behold the nations. Let not the rebellious exalt
themselves, Selah. So the Lord's power and mind
is set forth. His control is set forth. Now,
In a Gospel day, we have the treasure of the Old Testament
and all that is laid up in store there, what the Lord has done. We have, of course, in the New
Testament, the record of our Lord's miracles and what He did,
showing forth His power and His might. But especially in the
Old Testament, we have a great wealth of record of what the
Lord has done to draw on in the preaching of the gospel, in setting
forth the truths that are in this verse, the Lord in control. If we go back to Noah's day,
the Lord, he knew what he was to bring upon the earth, able
to tell Noah to build an ark to the saving
of his house, 120 years before the flood came. And while that
ark was preparing, then Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
And in the Lord's time, the flood did come. Those that were in
the ark, they were saved, brought safely over again to dry land
and the earth repopulated. And if ever there was a demonstration
of the Lord in control, He knew what He would do. He made provision. He saved a people, eight souls
saved by water. He designed the way that they
should be saved. He used the way. It was effectual. We wouldn't be here today if
it wasn't. And what a picture we have of
what the Lord said then the end of the world would be. that the
heaven and earth shall pass away with great noise, shall be rolled
up as a scroll, that it shall not be by water, but shall be
by fire, that his people shall be saved. In Noah's day, they
were saved by intellectual art. In the last day, they are saved
by being taken up into heaven, they are with the Lord, And when
the Lord then regenerates the earth or renews it in new heavens
and new earth, then when it is all ready, just like it was with
the Garden of Eden, God made everything ready and he put man
in it. The whole of creation is that
way. The six days of creation, you
can divide it three and three. They're preparing, preparing
the heavens, they're preparing the earth, preparing the seas. And then he puts everything in
the heavens. He populates those areas. He goes back, and God is always
doing that. He did that with Canaan. He said
to the children of Israel, they wouldn't have to plant vineyards.
They wouldn't have to build houses. They'd just go into the land.
It was prepared. Heaven is a prepared place for
a prepared people. And so when God's people die,
they go straight to heaven. When the Lord comes again, his
people shall be caught up with him in the air. Then the earth
shall be destroyed. Then it shall be renewed. And then we picture the whole
church of God coming down from God as a bride. prepared for her husband and
then she shall come into the preparation, the new heavens
and new earth prepared for them. The ark, Noah's ark was a beautiful
time of Christ and it is in the Lord Jesus Christ that we shall
have a refuge and hiding place when the Lord comes again. But
the Lord was in control in Noah's day and is in control in our
day And in Noah's day, he was a preacher of righteousness.
We trust in our day, we are a preacher of righteousness, pointing to
Christ. And as sure as the end of the
appointed time, the flood came, so at the end of the appointed
day of grace, so shall the end come. And the end shall be glorious,
though now it is tribulation, though now it is trouble. Yet
the Lord is in control, as much now as He was in Noah's day. And then we have other illustrations
of that, how the Lord delivered His people out of Egypt. He said before He sent Moses
that He would harden Pharaoh's heart. And Pharaoh would not
let him go. Remember our text, he says here,
thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. God is in control
over man. He was in control over Pharaoh.
Pharaoh thought he was in control. He said, who is the Lord that
I should obey him? He shook his fist at him. He defied God, but God brought
him to his knees, the whole nation. to their knees and then destroyed
all the firstborn and brought his people out. And so if ever
there was a time that, again, God being in control was seen,
was in Egypt in separating his people and bringing them to himself. We think, again, the parallel
in a gospel day. God's people are scattered right
through the world in every nation, kindred, and tongue, And the
Lord is bringing his people out, separating them out. And the
world doesn't like to let go those that are with it. And Satan
doesn't like either. But the Lord is in control, and
he does bring his people out. He does draw them to himself.
And so it's good to us to see, in that instance, again, God
is in control. We think of many other instances,
perhaps Just to think of the Book of Esther. And though we
do not read the name of God there, yet we read of his works right
the way through. God in control, ordering everything. No, he's not Haman. It's in control. He wants to destroy the Jews,
but all of his efforts and all of his designs all come to nothing. He is slain. He is hanged on
the gallows that he'd made for Mordecai. and the Jews are delivered. And that resulted in a lasting
observance of Purim year by year to praise the Lord for what he
had done at that time, and that time of delivering them from
destruction, from annihilation. And these are records in the
Word of God. It's again and again, and maybe
from tonight, as you read the Word of God, this thought is
in your mind as you read many of the scriptural accounts that
I am reading here about God in control. He is controlling the
situation. He is controlling it, especially
when men are involved. Men that have got a free will. men that are doing things and
they're saying we're doing it because we want to do it and
they are saying no one is controlling me, I am doing what I want, I
am persecuting the people of God, I am doing these things
but God says, no, you may be doing that, but I am in control. Thus far and no further. What
you're doing is just fulfilling my will. The wickedness is yours,
the work and control is mine. Perhaps just another example
in the account of Joseph. Now Joseph was able to look back
and say to his brothers, ye meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good. to save your lives by great deliverance. And we see then the path that
Joseph went through, and yet it was for the good and the deliverance. But God was in control in all
that happened in Joseph's life, though it was such a trial to
him. And so we need to be mindful
of this. However much we might be in trial,
in tribulation, in uncertainty, however much that man might rise
up and seem to be in control. And nations, they change their
leaders. God appoints them. Nothing happens
by chance. Those that are appointed, you
might say, well, what about Israel? What about Judah? They had good
kings. They had bad kings. But the Lord
ordered each one of those. Whether it was a bad king or
a good king, it was all in the Lord's appointments. And it didn't
frustrate the coming of our Lord. It didn't stop that line. What
a miracle it is that the line through David can be traced right
back. You look in Luke and you trace
right back from our Lord, right back down to Adam. And right
through, through David, through Abraham, we have it in Matthew. and the ordering of those generations
through one person after another, one king after another. And though that line was nearly
extinguished several times, the Lord prevented it from being
so. May we strengthen this evening
that God is in control. Because our text, it begins with
this, Thou hast caused men. So those things that come upon
the people of God, they see God's hand. Men have not done this
on their own. Thou hast caused it. So I want to look then secondly
at the way that is through fire and through water. We read 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, thy Saviour, I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee. The Lord assures his people that
he has redeemed them, but they are to go through. It's not if
thou passest through the waters, it's when. Our Lord was as certain
of this as well. In the world you shall have tribulation,
But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In me ye
shall have peace." We cannot escape the cross, we cannot escape
tribulation, but the Lord uses that. He is in control in this
way. And what is put here as through
fire and water, it is described more particularly you might say,
from verses 9. We have there, which holdeth
our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, Lord, hast proved us. So that is what the Lord is doing
with his people in these trials. He's got an end in view. He is
proving them. Some of you may have made bread,
not in a bread maker, as we used to do when I was a boy and we
used to make three loaves at a time and with the yeast and
the dough and we'd have it all in a bowl and we'd put it in
front of the fire and the hearth and it would then swell up and
we'd prove that yeast was working. And when it was full then we'd
bash it all down into bits, we'd cut it into three bits, put it
in tins and then put it in front of the fire again where it was
warm and wait till it rose up nice and high and then we put
it in the oven and bake it. But the yeast was proved whether
it was really working and to rise up. And the Lord does that
with his people. You might think, why has he bashed
me down? Why has he cast me down? Why are these trials? Why are these troubles? Grace,
says the hymn writer, though the smallest, must surely be
tried. And Peter says, the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, may be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The Lord has decreed
that, where he gives grace, where he gives spiritual life, then
he proves it. What if we were to have a rope? We were going to use that rope
to swing over a void place and over a gap and to another side. We were going to risk our lives,
as it were, on that rope before we hung on it with the great
drop below us. We'd want to prove it. You'd
want to see whether it actually held your weight, whether it
would be strong enough to do. And we're used to proving things
or testing things before they're actually used in service when
it's critical. If it's left to when we die,
if it's beyond the grave, that is too late to find out we've
missed the mark. The grace wasn't real grace,
we weren't really saved. But it is here below, the Lord
proves it. You might say with dear Peter,
it was proved in this way. Satan hath desires to have you,
to sift you as wheat, but I prayed for thee that thy faith fail
not. And so he must go through Satan's
sieve, but the Lord had prayed for him. His faith was from the
Lord, it was sustained. He wasn't like Judas, that denied
the Lord, that gave up, that took his own life. He was brought
through the other side of that trial, and he's brought other
sides still to believe, still to trust, still to love the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's a blessed thing where we
are given spiritual life, we're given faith, and then the Lord
tests it, and he tests it in ways of tribulation. He proves
it in this way. Thou hast tried us as silver
is tried, that is in a furnace. Thou broughtest us into the net,
into a place that we cannot get out of. How many times the Lord's
people may be in a situation and they cannot escape out of
it, they cannot get out of it. They're caught, they're caught
in a trap and whether it is affliction or whether it is a providential
trial or whether it is something that They're snared in by an
agreement or something, yet they're in this path and they cannot
back out of it. It's like being on a conveyor
belt and you cannot get off. It's like really being in life's
journey. And you might think, well, like
dear Job, you wish you'd never been born. But we have been born. We can't say, well, I just want
to get off life. I don't want to continue on.
I can see if I continue on, then the grave is at the end and death
is at the end. I don't want to go that far.
I want to get off. No, you can't. We are in life
and there's no opportunity. There's no way of escape, but
through the way ordained and appointed by God, hemmed in on
every side. And the Lord often does that.
with trials as well. Thou lays affliction upon our
loins. So the Lord is using affliction,
using sickness, using trials in that way. Thou has caused
men to ride over our heads. And how often when we look at
this, when we see how men have been used, we mentioned Pharaoh
with the children of Israel, it was kings, it was other nations,
it was men. that were raised up against the
Lord. It was man. It was their voices. It was their contradiction. With
David, the sword shall not depart from thy house. It was man. It
was his own son, Absalom, rose up against him as he was going
out of Jerusalem. Shimei, another man, casting
dust and cursing David. Abishai, he says, let me go over
and take off his hair. A very different spirit than
David. David says, let him curse. Why? Because the Lord hath bidden
him. Our text says, thou hast caused
men to ride over our heads. David saw that. He recognized
that was happening there. It may be the Lord will requite
me good for his cursing this day. And again and again, it
was men that rose up and men that were trial and we must expect
the same. It's very easy to blame men or
to look at men or seek to attack them. Sometimes we don't discern
God's hand because we think that man was prejudiced or that man
made a mistake and he read the situation wrong and he didn't
do what was right. He didn't make the right decision.
That medical man or that man that we've had dealings with.
It's good for us to recognize that very often with the Lord's
people, he will use men as to try his people, to test them,
as chastening, as correction, and to bring them into pathways
of trial. I say that because it's so easy
to not see the Lord's hand, but when we look at this verse, then
we see it is the Lord. They are the sword, the hand
is thine. They are like Babylon that the
Lord said, Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. And yes, later on, he
was judged, Babylon was judged, but the Lord used him and the
Lord uses like Jeroboam to sever off 10 tribes of Israel because
of Solomon's sin as a chastening, but the Lord is using man. So if we can say, well, our trials
that we're in now, it was caused by that person and that person
and what they did and what they said, no, look above them and
see the Lord's hand. and see Him, instead of aiming
at men, humble ourselves beneath the Lord. It doesn't lessen the
trial, but when we are looking unto the Lord, then we will look
for help, and we'll look for that expectation that the Lord's
aim in this is not to crush, not to destroy, but to be a blessing. We have natural sayings, don't
we? In dark times, when things start
to get better, you see light at the end of the tunnel, something
gets better. But very often with the people
of God, sometimes those deliverances, they're very quickly. The thing
was done suddenly. Suddenly the cloud is lifted.
Suddenly there is a deliverance, rather than gently. Other times it is so. But what
is certain is this word that comes in our text, and it comes
in Isaiah, and it is through. We are being brought through. these trials, through these things
that God is in control over. You know Job in chapter 37, and we have Elihu
speaking, he causes it to come, whether for correction or for
his land, or for his mercy. Of course, dear Job, he went
through tremendous trial through Satan. But then there was added
to it his own friends, miserable comforters, i.e., all. They originally
went to comfort him, but then as that trial went on and on,
then they implied there was some reason that these things had
come upon him. And Job rose up against it and
he tried to justify himself. And it brought in that fire,
though it didn't come as chastening, there wasn't a reason for that,
but in it he brought things out from Job that he never knew were
there. He said, mine eye, I've heard
of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee,
wherefore I pour myself in dust and ashes. He said with the gold,
and certainly I haven't seen any gold and silver, but with
lead, if you melt lead down, then you get all the impurities
come up to the top, and you scrape those off. When we used to weld
stainless steel, the trolleys that came from the kitchens at
the hospital always heated up first, and all of the impurities
and the goo, they all come up. You think that's nice silver. Stainless, you don't see the
impurities until you put the fire on it, and then they come
up. Then you've got to get rid of them, and then you can weld
it and do what you want with that. And it is that with the
people of God. God shows them what is in their
hearts. He uses the trial for good. He uses it to show his mercy
and his kindness, and to bring that fellowship and union with
him, the path that the Lord Jesus Christ himself has walked. Thou courteous man, to ride over
our heads, we went through fire and water. What contrast that
has, fire and water. One hot, one cold. One to be drowned in, another
to be burnt up. All the trials and all the things
the Lord's people go through are not the same. The very opposite,
it's different. Things that they go through,
you know, some of the interrogation techniques in the war, they used
Gestapo and things like that. They used those contrasts where
one would be very, very severe on someone and then they'd change
and they'd get another person and they'd be very gentle. And
just that contrast and the change of treatment would often work
and break them down so that they confess or tell secrets and those
different contrasts. They are used also by God to
really try and test the people of God and see what is in them. Sometimes it might be a trial
of affliction, of sickness. Another time it might be a trial
of wealth and of prosperity. You know, those that are in Sri
Lanka, those are in countries that are much poorer than us.
I've heard it said, we are praying for you in England because you
are in more danger than us because you have wealth and you have
prosperity and that's more dangerous to your soul than our poverty
and our trials. And they can see that. The children
of Israel, the Lord warned them that when they went into the
promised land, and they were blessed and they built up and
they had wealth, that they should not depart from and forget the
Lord. But they did. Then he warned
them about the idols brought into contact with men. Men that
had different opinions, men that had different gods and different
idols. How many times they fell in that
trial and in that test. It wasn't always the same. Sometimes
it might be painful things, and others, by very ease and quietness,
men today, lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God, take
thine ease and be merry, and well, everything will go on. And that can prove, though we
might not seem it a real trial, but it's a way that the Lord
proves us. And if we truly have been redeemed,
Then there comes a time we realise the Lord has withdrawn. We do
not have the communion, the fellowship, the love, the enjoyment that
we had with the Lord or with his people. And the reason is
because we've gone, we've fallen in that trial. We've gone through
that trial in that way, perhaps even not seen it as a real trial
of our faith. So it's different. Some is by
fire. Some is by water. but it's into
a path that is a proving path, a path where we're held in so
that we must go through it. The children of Israel must go
through the wilderness. The Lord brought them into it
and he brought them through it and brought them through the
other side. And as we said regarding our
Lord, he must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom. May this be a help to those of
you in trial and in trouble, especially where men, women,
people are involved, to be able to look at the Lord's hand above. And he gives that encouragement
to seek unto the Lord in our trials and in our troubles. Our
temptation is to deal with ourselves, to deal with the men, But when
we see the Lord has brought us into it, when we see that he
is to bring us through it, then there's such encouragement to
go unto him. Because in our text, we don't
only read that thou caused us men to ride over our heads, but
we read that thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. The Lord that began. Job, he
says, the Lord casteth down, not man. And it was the Lord
that brought Job out of it. It's a real principle, isn't
it? Where the Lord begins a thing, he'll finish it. Where he brings
us into a thing, he'll bring us out of it. He won't leave
us in it. Where he brings the children
of Israel into Egypt, he'll bring them out of Egypt to the promised
land. When he sends them to Babylon
for 70 years, he'll bring them out of Babylon and plant them
again in his own land. And so we have in the third place,
the place brought unto. Our text says that it is a wealthy
place. Margin says moist, or if we compare
it with Psalm 18, it is a large place. If we look later on in this psalm, we have the praise and glory
that is given to the Lord for what He has done. In verse 13,
I will go into thy house with burnt offerings, I will pay thee
my vows. In this place of blessing, the
result in this soul that has been blessed is to go to the
house of the Lord. And there's been things that
have been promised in these trials and in these fiery baths, that
if the Lord appeared and if the Lord answered, if the Lord brought
them out, then they would do something. You know, Hannah,
through her fiery trial of not being able to have children,
and in her prayer, she promised if the Lord gave a man child,
she'd loan him for his life to the Lord. And when Samuel was
given, she fulfilled that vow and brought him up again. For
this child I prayed, the Lord hath given me my petition that
I asked of him. And that fiery trial had ended
in that way. And so there's a direct link
linking then with the prayers, verse 14, which my lips have
uttered, my mouth has spoken, when I was in trouble. Those that were in trouble in
these foray trials, they're praying, may we be praying souls in those
troubles. And then there's really a tracing
to the sufferings, the death, of what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done, pointing to burnt sacrifices and the offerings. At the end
of Psalm 25, we read, redeem Israel, O God, out of all his
troubles. And we would know every time
God's people are delivered out of trouble, it is because Christ
is dying. They are redeemed. That is why,
that is how, The Lord has delivered them and saved them, they are
redeemed people. Their bringing out, their deliverance
is just, is right, not because there any good in them, but because
Christ has paid the debt and he has gone before them in it. And so then you read in verse
16, Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will declare
what he hath done, for my soul. I was like that at the end of the
path with the two way to Emmaus where they came back to the disciples
and they told what was done in the way and how Jesus had made
himself known to them in breaking of bread. And it's is a beautiful
summary of a testimony that could be given to the Church of God
by one that God has begun a good work in, one that has been tried,
brought through these things and then been brought into a
place of blessing, a real contrast between the fire and the water
and now it's a place of blessing, spiritual blessing. This is not
wealth and prosperity ministry, it's not bringing into physical
wealth and riches, it is bringing into the blessings of the Gospel. And so the call is to those that
fear God, God's people, that I will declare what He hath done
for my soul, what He hath done for me in the way, what He hath
done in bringing me into this trial and through this trial
and out of this trial, and into a path of blessing. That is the
right place where this is to be declared and set forth and
the Lord to be glorified. And of course, in the ministry
of the gospel, we do declare what the Lord Jesus Christ has
done. He has decreed that his servants
should lift him up on the pole of an everlasting gospel, show
what his sufferings were, and show that through those sufferings
he's entered into glory and that it was through that way that
the people of God are redeemed. That's why with the Lord's Supper,
constant remembrance is that. Through the cross, behold the
crown, through suffering, through the broken bread, through the
shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we have then, if we
go to verses 19 and 20, It is the answers to prayer. Verily
God hath heard me, he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed
be God which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy
from me. And we have in verse 18, if I
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. In
other words, if we have sins and we say we're going to ignore
them. We're going to regard that iniquity
and we're going to hedge it about. I'm not going to repent of that.
I'm not going to touch that. The Lord will not hear those
like that. But when we feel our iniquity,
when we groan under it and we do regard it in that sense to
confess it, to own it and to bring it before the Lord, The
very fact of the Lord hearing and answering our prayers show
that those sins will not be held against us. They are pardoned
and they are forgiven. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. It is the expectation of the
people of God that the blessing is through the cross through
tribulation, through this world, and unto heaven. And sometimes
we're given sweet blessings, deliverances here, but in the
end we wait for that which is to come, and to be with Christ,
which is far better. Thou causest men to ride over
our heads. We went through fire and through
water, But Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. May those times come that we
each here are able to speak these words and say to those that fear
God, I will declare what He hath done for my soul. Amen. Hymn, 231. Tune, Blessedness 301. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
Be with you all night now and evermore. Amen.