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. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we ask thy blessing upon our worship this evening and we pray,
Lord, that it might be like that first day of the week when thou
didst arise and appear to thy dear disciples. Do bless us,
Lord, with that blessing that makes us glad when we see the
Lord. We do pray then the power of
thy spirit upon thy word, that we might sing thy worthy praise,
and with our hearts an understanding also. We ask through thy name,
Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn: 88. Tune: Goodshaw Fold 339 Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, Psalm 90. If you are joining with one of
our free Bibles, that is page 590 in the Ruby Bible. Psalm
90. A prayer of Moses, the man of
God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling
place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever, thou hast formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man
to destruction, and sayest, return ye children of men. For a thousand
years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and
as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with
a flood. They are as a sleep. In the morning they are like
grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth
and groweth up. In the evening it is cut down
and withereth. For we are consumed by thine
anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities
before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away
in thy wrath, we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore
years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be fourscore
years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow, for it is
soon cut off and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine
anger? Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord,
how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy
us early with thy mercy. that we may rejoice and be glad
all our days. Make us glad according to the
days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the years wherein we have
seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. and let the beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of
our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands, establish thou
it. Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word, and help us as we come before him in prayer. Let us pray. We come before Thee, our loving
Heavenly Father, and we come through Thy beloved Son, our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that as a father
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Lord, Thou knowest our frame,
Thou rememberest that we are but dust. And Lord, we come before
Thee, who knoweth all things. Your Heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. And O Lord, we do thank
Thee for that. knowledge that thou hast of thy
creation and of thy people, and that which thou hast done for
them and are doing for them, to grant that we might be able
to discern and clearly see thy work. Open thou our eyes that
we might behold wondrous things out of thy law, and let thy work
appear unto thy servants, and, Lord, thy glory to our children. O Lord, we do seek that we might
be of those whose eyes are opened, who see thy work, who so is wise,
and will observe these things even they shall understand the
loving kindness of the Lord. O Lord, leave us not, as the
world at large that sees thee not, acknowledges thee not, does
not even notice thy work. Lord, we do pray that we might
know, by thy Spirit's teaching, those things which thou art doing. O Lord, grant us a heart to perceive,
eyes to see, and that we might be able to meditate upon thy
work. O Lord, we thank thee that once
more we can gather in thine earthly courts, and we thank thee for
the mercies of this last week. Lord, we do pray that those be
with those in bereavement, be with those that are afflicted,
especially that have terminal illnesses. We pray, Lord, for
each in their afflictions and trials. We pray for thy dear
servant, the pastor at Lamberhurst, to grant thy kind, healing hand
upon him and raise him up again, strengthen him again to stand
before his flock. And Lord, remember him in all
that has been planned in this week. And do grant, Lord, that
if it is thy will, he might be able to do some of these things. But Lord, if not, do give him
that spirit of submission, we do pray for thy kind healing,
and to him. Lord, do hear prayer for all
in affliction at this time. To make these things work for
good, grant thy blessing upon care, upon medication, lengthen
days, if it could please thee, we have read, appointed days. And Lord, we know there are many
that do not reach that appointed span. There are many that go
much further past it. But Lord, we do pray that we
might know of Thine appointments and be submissive to them. We
do pray that Thou hast blessed each gathered here this evening. May each soul be precious in
Thy sight, to feed Thy people, to be pleased to teach and instruct
those that Thou hast quickened into life, and those who still
as yet are in nature's darkness, to grant unto them the light
of life, pass by them and bid them live. Lord, help each to
seek and to pray and to wait upon Thee and to have an expectation
from Thee. O Lord, we thank Thee where Thou
hast directed us to the one and only name given among men, whereby
we must be saved. And Lord, do grant that each
of us might truly be persuaded of that. If ever my poor soul
be saved, his Christ must be the way. Save us from every other
way, from the broad way, and cause us to walk in the narrow
way, to come in at the wicked gate, to come in through conversion,
to come in through the new birth, through regeneration. And Lord,
do grant that we might know that thou hast begun a good work in
us. Lord, we do pray for that work
to be a manifest and to appear. and that we might be like Barnabas
who was able to see the grace of God and he was glad. O Lord, do bless that already
attended to this day and do bless each gathering of thy people
this evening. We do pray for the people of
this town that thou has worked savingly in this place and that
many might be brought to desire thy word and to seek after thee. O Lord, may we see that work
and see the work of thy spirit in this town. We do pray thy
blessing upon the Bibles as they've gone forth. And those that may
be seeking a place of worship nearer to them, we pray that
thou would guide them Bless their gathering together with thy people. O Lord, we do pray for those
who have not a sound place of worship near them, that they
might be helped and strengthened and blessed through the means
that they have. O Lord, be with the rising generation. We do pray that there might be
that strengthening of the churches Bless our young people, bless
their unions, make them fruitful, be pleased to grant them thy
grace, and that they might tell to another generation the wonderful
works of God. O Lord, we would thank thee for
all thy mercies and all thy kindness, Grant that we might be able to
see thy goodness in all things. Thou hast said that thou wilt
make thy goodness pass before us in the way. Though leave us
not with unthankful hearts, but Lord do help us to go forth in
faith and to give thanks every step of the way. We thank Thee
for endurance, for perseverance, for being able to continue. O Lord, we do seek that Thou
hast grant that blessing, for Thou hast said that he that endureth
unto the end shall be saved. And do grant that we might be
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to
be revealed in the last time. O Lord, who bless us, then through
thy word, feed us, instruct us, lead us, reprove us, chasten
us through thy word, and grant, Lord, that we might live upon
that which is spoken. Do forgive and pardon our many
sins, wash us in thy precious blood, help us to confess our
sins, and do cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Remember
those that struggle hard with inward corruptions and the fallen
nature that we have. And Lord, do help them to wrestle
day by day, to resist the devil, and to mortify the deeds of the
flesh, to grant us that grace and help so to do. Lord, we would
remember that Thou and Thou alone has put away sin, and that that
sin shall not have dominion over those that are under grace. O
Lord, do remember that promise and set us free when we feel
swamped and overtaken by the sin of our heart. Lord, we do
seek of Thee that we might be led more into Thy sufferings,
Thy death, and what Thou hast accomplished at Calvary. Lord,
it is central in our ministry, in the ordinances of Thy house,
and leave us not ignorant of what Thou hast accomplished and
done, but do shine upon Thy work of redemption and shine it into
our hearts. May we see Thee by precious faith
in our place, suffering for our sins, rising again for our justification. O Lord, do bless us with that
which is vital and needful. Leave us not taken up with religious
exercises and things that we hear and read, but not have a
close walk with Thee. or communion with Thee, or the
life of God in our souls. We do seek, Lord, that we might
have a life of faith and prayer. Oh, help us to be more in prayer
and deliver us from all distracting cares and thoughts and things
that intrude upon that time which should be for Thee. O Lord, so
we do present our petitions. Let our souls live, and we shall
praise Thee. Forgive us and deliver us from
those things that grieve Thy Spirit, and do grant that we
might be made more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask Thee these things through
His dear name. Amen. Announcements, God willing, I
am 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 collections
taken during August for the cause, 838 pounds 30 pence, and for
the free Bible fund, 70 pounds and 55 pence, we thank you for
your giving, the Lord bless you. in it. The Bible boxes, 31 Bibles
were taken during the month and 37 Bibles sent in response to
the web offer, making a total of 68 Bibles through this last
month. I would give advance notice that
at the end of this month, the 29th being a fifth Lord's Day,
we have a special collection which is for the Savannah Education
Trust. And on that Lord's Day, we have
the Lord's servant, Mr. Phil Bass, preaching for us here.
Hymn: 559, Tune: Samuel 561.
which great and silent shall
record the greatness of the mighty Lord. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses,
the man of God, and reading from our text, verse 16. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. Psalm 90 verse
16, let thy work appear. What a beautiful psalm this is,
a psalm of psalms, no doubt one of the oldest of the psalms,
and written by a man that was favoured to see the Lord and
to be one who said that A prophet shall the Lord thy God raise
up unto you like unto me. Him shall ye hear. And when we think that right
through the wilderness as Moses led the children, he actually
began that leading at the end of these four score years. And that was his life work for
the 40 years after that. And the Lord gave him that amazing
strength to lead the children of Israel. But all the way through
that journey, there was the beginning of the showing forth to the children
of Israel through the many types and the shadows, the coming of
the Lord. And no doubt, Moses, like those
long witnesses in Hebrews 11, They looked by faith to the Lord
that was to come. They looked past those shadows. They realised this was the plan
of God. This was the purpose of God.
This was revealing His beloved Son, the seed of the woman that
should bruise the serpent's head, and no doubt the longing of the
church right through those Old Testament times. was that they
might see by faith and that they might see the day that the fulfillment
of those promises came in the Lord Jesus Christ, came in the
Messiah, came in the Christ, came in that one that Moses,
in many respects, was a type of. And so in this psalm, Moses
sets before us the appointments of life, the fleeting of time. And yet during that time and
in that time allotted between the cradle and the grave, there
is to be, if we are to be saved, a work of grace, God's work,
a saving work. And I hope it is the desire of
us each that whatever other works, and we've sung of them in both
of our hymns, especially the first hymn, 88, of the works
of God. But may our real desire be that
his work appear in our own hearts, in our own lives, and to us in
what he has accomplished at Calvary, that this Prayer be our earnest
prayer, and that as we seek to number our days, so teach us
to number our days, to apply our hearts unto wisdom, that
that is our desire. It is the Lord's work that matters
for eternity is not by our works, but by his works. And so it is
vital that his work does appear to us and that he does get to
himself honor and glory, not just to us, but to a generation
that follows on. He's always been part of the
church's commission that they should tell to the generation
following. the wonderful works of God. Abraham
commanded his children after him, and the things that they
were told to do with the Passover, with the stones put on the other
side of Jordan, it was to provoke questions by their children.
What mean this sacrifice? What mean these stones? What
is the purpose? And then it gives the opening
to tell what the Lord has done there in releasing them from
Egyptian bondage and bring them over the Jordan into the promised
land. There always has been, always
will be a generation to serve the Lord. The Lord's people will
be on earth when he returns. It won't be that God's children
just peter out and it ceases to be on the earth a people to
know him. There will be a generation to
serve him. But we are to pray for this,
that this work of God appears to us, appears to the people
of God, and in doing so gives us a token of being one of his
children, and also that the glory of the Lord is seen by our children
as well. The promise is unto you and your
children, even as many as the Lord thy God shall call. So on to look firstly at thy
work, that is that which is to appear, desire to appear, thy
work. And then secondly, to whom it
is to appear, thy servants. It is specifically requested
here, not just let thy work appear, but unto thy servants. And I often think this when we
come to parts of the Word of God, and we think, well this
verse, if we left out some words, we could still read it, it would
still be readable, But why are these words added in? So it's
not just, let thy work appear and thy glory unto their children. Yes, of course, if you put their
children, then you need thy servants. But it is not just the work of
the Lord appearing. This is specific, who to. And then lastly, the glory, thy
glory appearing to the next generation. another generation. But firstly
the Lord's work. Now it's very evident from the
very prayer itself that to a natural man they do not discern or know
the work of God. We know from the word of God
and we're told Hebrews 11, that it is an act of faith to believe
that that which we see was made of things that do not appear. The Lord created the heavens
and the earth. And we sung of that. And it's
good for us to start with those things that are very clearly
seen. And those things which are set
forth in the Word of God, that man shall be without excuse because
he sees them, even though he is dead, even though by nature
he cannot see they are God's work. Yet we are told in Romans
1 that he shall be without excuse because even our own bodies are
fearfully, wonderfully made. They are the work of God, the
work of a creator. In natural things, we always
expect there to be a builder. If there is a beautiful garden,
we expect there to be a gardener. If there is a house that is built,
we expect a builder. If we have a car, we expect to
see a builder, the maker's badge on it. And in all things, we
expect there to be a maker. But part of the fall is that
Man cannot see, or does not want to see, that something actually
is the work of God. He will praise man. If man makes
a beautiful painting, a beautiful work, then he is praised for
it. And it is something of which
man will pin the glory upon a man, because what he has done but
as soon as it is suggested that actually it is God that has done
something, then there is a real block, there is real something
he doesn't want, that that should be so. So we must, and the Church
must always, stand for the real creation, a six-day creation
as set forth in Genesis, that in the beginning God, and he
made the heavens and the earth. It's very sad that some that
make profession of faith, that they give allowance, that there's
a gap between in the beginning God and then the work of creation
and allow for millions of years. Very sad when that is the case. Those that would otherwise be
very clear in how they set forth God's hand and God's creation. The word of God is very clear
that He began, and He began with days like we know it, and six
days, and then rested on the seventh day, and sanctified and
hallowed that day. And we believe then that the
world, 4,000 years to Christ, and approximately 2,000 years
after, 6,000 years old. And it was the Lord that created
it, and made it, and formed it. right the way through the Word
of God. Again and again it is rehearsed
of God's work in creation. It is not just the first chapter
or two of the Bible. We must always remember that,
that God has seen fit to bring it right through and to have
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, setting forth as well in the
beginning It was not so speaking of man and woman. God made them
male and female and instituted marriage. What God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder. And our Lord is teaching those
things. And he speaks of the tribulation
that it shall be great at the end of the world or great for
the children of Israel In Jerusalem, 70 AD, such has not been known
since the beginning of the world. And so the work of God is in
creation. Now there are some that will
allow that God has created the heavens and earth, but say he
has no part in it now. All he's given is just to create
it, and then hand it over to man and leave it to him. When
I was working in design and engineering, we used to design machines, make
the machines, install it, then hand it over. to the company
that we'd made it for. They had their own maintenance
fitters. They looked after it. Unless
something major went wrong, they didn't call us. And so man says,
well, that is what God has done with creation. He's made man
as the pinnacle. He's given him charge over all
things. And he has no part in it. There's no expectancy that God's
work is actually happening in this world. Let me read in the
word that, consider the work of God, who can make that straight
which he hath made crooked? And who is he that saith, and
it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? And Paul says,
in him we live and move and have our being. The Lord is he that
gives life and maintains life. and his hand is very much upon
his creation. He can withhold the rain, as
he did in Elijah's day, as he did in Joseph's day. He can bring the pestilences,
the things upon the earth, the flood in Noah's day, the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah. The earth is full of those things
that are the works of God. And man will say, well, they're
just nature. They just apply, for the most
part, to the laws of nature. But God isn't confined to the
laws of nature. For the most part, yes, it is. But God has put those in place. And so we begin with that which
is seen, that which is evident, and that which shall be used to condemn men at the last day. But then we would go from the
work of God in creation, informing all things and maintaining all
things, and would go to the work of God in redemption. And in
one sense it is inseparable. We would believe that the world
only exists because God's people are in it. Until the last one
is called by grace, this world cannot be destroyed. They must,
the people for whom Christ has died, shed his blood, risen again,
justified, they must be born into this world. and they must
be born again before the world can end. The world will end when
God's people are on the earth, but they shall be converted,
they shall look up, they shall see their redemption when Christ
shall come. And in that sense, it is inseparable
what the Lord is doing in the earth. When you think how the
Lord governed Pharaoh in Joseph's time and in Moses' time, when
you think of how he used Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon for the chastening
of his people, when you think of even the taxing that was raised
when our Lord was born, that brought our Lord to be born in
Bethlehem and not in Nazareth, We have inseparably joined together
the providences and the things that are done in the earth. The raising up of kingdoms, the
pulling of kingdoms down, all fulfilling the Lord's purposes
and inseparably joined to his work of redemption. That is his
greatest work and everything else is aiming to that and pointing
to that. And so we see with our Lord Jesus
Christ, that great work, the miraculous work of Emmanuel,
God with us, that God should dwell among us, that he should
take on him the flesh, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
yet without sin, and that he should live upon this earth,
that work of working out a robe of righteousness for his people. That work spanned all his days
here below. To view what the Lord has done
in working that out and then to come to Calvary and what was
accomplished there when the Lord Jesus Christ took the sins of
his people on him and he offered himself a sacrifice acceptable
unto God to put away those sins and then to rise again and to
show that those sins were put away. The work of redemption
spans from eternity to eternity. The people of God are chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and
that work of God He loved his people and loves his people an
everlasting love. And therefore, with loving kindness,
he draws them. And so it is a work that brings
our Lord here and to work a work of redemption to redeem, to set
free by payment of a price, his own people that he has loved. And having done that at Calvary,
then his work right through time is to bring that people to a
knowledge of themselves as sinners and to a knowledge of himself
as to what he has done, really fulfilling this very word here,
let thy work appear. Everyone that is saved will be
brought to see their salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. to
the work of the Lord, then in the lives of his people. It is
his work that brings them into this world. It is his work that
orders all their lives, their providences, decreeing the very
time and place where they shall hear the word of God, where they
shall be blessed. My last, minutest circumstance
is subject to his eye. Those that will observe providence
will never lack a providence to observe. The work of God is
everywhere, is all around us. And may we keep in view that
the greatest thing that the Lord is looking at is his people and
the redemption of his people. the things that are done. And
sometimes it is very, very humbling to view what God does for the
good of his people. And when we can see things that
have been done for our benefit, for our good, I can look back
in my life in Providence and things that inseparably, the
mistake the teachers made when I was seven, when we changed
schools, that meant that I skipped a year. It was an adjustment,
like in Joshua's day, where the sun stood still. And that changed
from then on. Many, many providences right
through my life, that one-year adjustment, had that come about
by a mistake of teachers, so-called. And then timing, timing coming
over here, the call by grace, call to the ministry, call to
the pastorate, the timing when that happened to actually come
over in a time that the exchange rate was the best for us, the
housing market the lowest, the Lord provided for us a home in
that way, that to do so meant organizing the markets and housing
and so many things, things way out of our control that impacted
on our lives. And we know those things are
in the Lord's hand. Who is he that saith, and it
cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? And so the
work of God, when we realize this, is in everything. There's a real foundation in
this because when we believe that, then it should stop all
of our fretting, or replying against God, or our fears, our
doubts. If the Lord is in control, and
He is, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, He it is that
has said that there shall be wars and rumors of wars. And he it is that has said, let
not your heart be troubled. He is in control. And so the
work of God, we are to really realize, is everywhere, is in
everything. There's no place where his voice
is not heard. And as the psalmist says, David
says in Psalm 139, there's no place where the Lord is not.
Could it be that any man or even Satan frustrates God's design
and work, goes against his counsel, proves that he's not in control? We can't really comprehended
ourselves, even if there was a large firm and there was an
owner of that firm. In a natural sense, you could
have men rise up. They could overrule him. They could go against what he
wanted to do. But with the Lord, no man can
do that. Even Satan has to get permission
from the Lord to touch Joe and the Lord has the last say in
everything. Though it may seem like Pharaoh
is saying, I'm not letting thy people go, the Lord says, for
this cause, purpose have I raised thee up to show my power, my
might in thee. And so the work of God is in
everything, is in providence, what we see is in the life, is
in creation and maintaining it, but it is in the salvation of
his people. The saving of them by his grace
in time, redeeming them and calling them, preparing them to depart
this life and bring them at last to be with him. The disciples
asked once, what shall we do? that we might work the work of
God. And the Lord said, this is the
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent. And the work of God is what is
spoken of here then with Moses, let thy work appear. So he's not thinking, well, here
is a world that has got man's work everywhere, And somewhere
in that we can get a little bit of God's work. When we oversee
a little bit of God's work, we will start with that it is all
God's work, it's all God's hand. Not just a little bit of it,
but all of it. But the prayer is, let it appear. And so I want to look secondly
at to whom it is to appear. The prayer is, Let thy work appear
unto thy servants. I believe the message here is
that God is not going to appear until that last great day to
everybody. There are many that live and
die and never see the work of God appearing. They don't believe
it. They don't receive it. But Moses
knows, and really all the people of God should know, that the
Lord will reveal his work to his people. When we think of
redemption, when the Lord rose again from the dead, it was only
to his people that he revealed himself and showed them himself
sovereignly, when he would, where he would. And so it still is. And so it is a mark of grace. It's a mark of the blessing of
God, where the Lord opens the eyes and causes us to see and
perceive and understand the work of God. And then you have those
that say, the thing proceedeth from the Lord. Those specific
works that are especially done for the people
of God, able to see it. This is the Lord's doing and
it is marvellous in our eyes. Those times like Abraham was
directed to Rebekah and take a wife for Isaac, a very important
thing. And it was clearly seen and known
by Laban and Bethuel that that thing did proceed from the Lord. It was the Lord's hand and was
the Lord's will. And so there'll be those times
that the people of God especially want to see it, the Lord going
before them and especially in the way of grace. And so this prayer, to whom this
work is to appear, thy servants, those that would serve the Lord,
those that would, instead of serving self or Satan or this
world, be like Saul, Paul, when he was converted. Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? Instead of fighting against God,
instead of saying that I am going to resist God's work, It is a
people that desire to fall in with them, to go along with them,
to rejoice in them, to take delight in seeing the work of God. And so this is a very important
prayer for us. There are several prayers throughout
this psalm. The whole psalm is a prayer,
but there are several petitions that are in this prayer, teaching
us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. The desire, oh, satisfy us early
with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make
us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us
and the years wherein we have seen evil. And so this is a petition
that the Lord would do these things. for his people and that
they actually see his hand in it. There's a double blessing
then. There's a blessing of what the
Lord does for his people and there's a blessing that they
actually see it and see his hand. I remember years ago and the
employer that I had, his wife told me of a The journey that
they had, her daughter coming on the train from London and
not having enough money for the fare all the way home. So she
got off and went to phone her parents to pick her up at the
station. And when she got to the phone,
someone else had been there and the change had been left there
from a previous call. And the change was enough to
pay for the ticket on the way home. And when she told me, I
said, that was God's provision. That was God's work to provide
that. She couldn't see it. It was luck,
it was chance. She was a professed Christian.
Her husband was warden and now vicar, but she couldn't see it. And it so struck me that as she
related that which happened to her daughter, happened in her
family, And I could see and believe that was God's work, but she
couldn't. And it's a great blessing to
be able to see it and to believe it. And it is important for us
to remember that it still is God's work, though it doesn't
appear to people. If there is a ward in the hospital
where There are six people. One is the Lord's people. They
seek for healing. They get healing. They give thanks
and honour to God. And the others say, we're not
Christians. We don't believe in God. We didn't
ask and we're not going to thank him. We had a good surgeon and
we're healed. But the Lord is good to all.
His tender mercies are over all his works. And we must remember
that it is the Lord that heals the heathen and heals and gives
life to all. And there is not one part of
the world that's for God's people and another part for those who
are not, and one God that rules over part and another God that
rules over another. The difference is that the Lord's
servants, those that are His, they see His work, they acknowledge
His work, they give Him the glory for it. They ask to see it, and
his work leads them to the Lord. They're not of those that recoil
from the thought that God is governing and ordering their
lives. Man loves to be his own master and to do what he wants.
That's why he likes an idol, because an idol, you can put
it where you want, you can make it say what you want and hear
what it wants, You can be the master of the idol, but when
you have a true and a living God, He is not deceived. He knows
the heart, He has power of mind, and He is the same, immutably
the same, holy and pure. So then, for the people of God,
this is a real mark. I wonder how many of us here,
the Lord has answered this prayer. He has shown us whether in providence,
or in grace, that which we clearly felt and seen, this is God's
work. He has brought this about. He
has ordered it. He's appointed it. When we think
of the book of Esther, we do not read of God there, but you
read all of his work, and you're especially seeing of his timing,
his deliverance for his people, and The end that was achieved,
the deliverance from the enemies and the exalting of his people. And you see that timing in everything. We never despise providence because,
and don't let the devil say, well, that's not a spiritual
blessing, that's no mark, you're one of God's people, because
that's just providence. Well, we need, and you can see
countless millions that cannot see providence, they cannot see
God's work, though it is there. And when we see the Book of Esther,
would we discount it all and say, well, that wasn't any glorified
work that gave glory to God at all, it was, it just happened. No, it was God in control. And
so, if you have seen It might be only a small thing, but a
lot of things have hung on it. It's been an important matter,
and the timing of it, and what is hung upon it. And sometimes
like that change in the year with my school, it was going
to be another 12 years before I was called by grace. At that
time, I never saw it. as anything in the Lord's hand.
But when called by grace, then you can look back. And it's not
the Lord's work appearing going forward just, it's the Lord's
work appearing going backward. And you can even see it in the
lives, your parents or grandparents or things that were done that's
affected where you were born, what place, what nationality,
those things. so vital, so important. Our daughter living over in Australia,
if she had not have been born there, had dual nationality,
she could not easily have gone back like she has. And those
things are appointed, and I know we always felt when the children
were born there, that the Lord had a purpose, there was some
reason for it, and not then surprised when one did go back. And so
my own being here too, emigrated 31 years in Australia, but can
easily come back because I was born here. And so a citizen here. And it is these things that can
afford very sweet meditation and confirmation of the Lord's
hand and guidance and purpose toward us. And don't pass over
small things. But may you pray this word and
where the Lord does open up and does show his work and it appears
to us, then maybe really take it, may you take it as a token
from him. You know, the Lord revealed to
Manoah and his wife, the parents of Samson, what they would do
when Manoah realized that it was an angel of God Then he said
that we shall die. But his wife said, no. If the
Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have told us such
things as this, nor would he have shown us such things, nor
would he have received a sacrifice at our hand. And she could see
in what had happened a token for good, the Lord's goodness
towards them, whereas her husband at that time couldn't. It is
good for us sometimes to be a help one to another, where one cannot
see, to help them to see, and then to have the peace and the
knowledge that it is the Lord. And so, may we pray this prayer,
and when we pray it, then be expecting, then be watching,
Then also be ready, if the Lord is pleased to answer it, to see
the token and see the blessing that is joined to it. The Lord
deliver us from praying prayers that we forget and we'll don't
think what we're actually praying and don't watch for an answer. Here is a prayer that is so vital. He which hath begun a good work
in you, shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. It is the Lord's work alone that
is our salvation. You and I are saved. Then the
Lord's work will be what shall be our comfort in life and our
comfort in death. And it is the Lord's work that
shall bring the soul from the body back to himself. I will
come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there
you shall be also is the Lord's work that shall quicken our mortal
bodies raise them from the dust and clothe us with celestial
bodies that is the Lord's work we're not able to do it no man
is able to do it and so blessed soul that is able to see it in
time and to give glory to God for it and to take comfort that
this has been shown us and revealed to us. I want to look lastly
at the glory appearing to the next generation. Let thy work
appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. God's work is never to be just
buried or forgotten. We know that many of the Lord's
people have written books and written their life story or testimony
and it has been not just for their children but other generations
and of course the whole Word of God, the books of Moses and
the history of the children of Israel is all the recording of
the works of God. It shows forth his work and it
is good for us and as we mentioned before Those things that God
has done, the Passover, which in our day we have the Lord's
Supper, the stones that were on the side of Jordan when they
were brought through, there were stones also under Jordan, but
they couldn't be seen. But the stones outside could
be. And we would remember this. Often there's two parts. When
they sold land, There was that token that was seen and that
which was not seen. When I bought houses, the main
deeds of that house, it's been in the bank, it's been in a vault,
it's been kept safe. But I've got a copy of that,
and I can look at that, and I can see that. And that's not the
actual real deed, but it's a token of it. And so there are those
things that we are able to clearly show and set forth to another
generation. And it is God's will that we
should do that. And notice how it is put here,
thy glory. There's two things that are thy
in this verse, thy work, thy glory. And the two things are
joined together. But we would remember that All
what the Lord does is for his honour and for his glory. And it's a blessed thing when
we are able to relate our lives and what the Lord has done, and
not in a way, look at us, look at what's happened, look at me,
but look at the Lord's work, look at what he has done and
put the crown upon his head. and that glory be shown for another
generation. It's a lovely thing where there's
that link from one generation to the next, the father to the
son, to tell the wondrous works of God. And so may we be encouraged
in this, often say with an encourage to young people, And don't be
shy at asking, especially those who have made profession, asking
if they could share their testimony. You know, it's a sad thing if
the only time the testimony of God's grace is known is when
it's told before a church meeting. And sometimes it may be that
a person joins a church and they've already got 20 members or more
And those members hear that person's testimony, but that person has
not heard any of the other's testimonies. And it's a good
thing. If it is shared, if it is heard,
that we do speak of the Lord's work and do speak of what He
has done. And don't listen to Satan and
say, well, you've got to be humble. No, don't speak because it'll
just be pride. You'll just be speaking of yourself,
no, you're speaking of what the Lord has done, you're glorifying
his name. And even in the relating of it,
there's a strengthening and encouraging of the soul, not only of those
that hear, but those that relate it as well. It's one means that
we do not forget, we remember what the Lord has done, that
we don't just go through life and all the Lord's works, they
just fall to the ground, they're forgotten, they're never heard. Well, may this prayer be ours. May we have this token of being
his servants. May we have eyes to see and a
heart to perceive the work of God. And this be our prayer. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants. and thy glory unto their children. What a blessed thing it would
be if in this town or amongst our loved ones, we would be like
Barnabas. When he went to Antioch, he saw
the grace of God and was glad. He saw the work of God in the
hearts of those that were converted. He saw the fruits and effects
in their lives. May the Lord grant us to see
that. Amen. Hymn: 489, Tune: Sheffield 235. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
rest and abide with you all now and evermore. Amen.