I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing on our gathering. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
do grant unto us the power of thy Holy Spirit, thy blessing,
as we gather together in thy name. Lord, do get to thyself
honour and glory, and do impart to us the blessings of the Gospel. We ask, Lord, this blessing through
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn: 1076 Tune: Nuremberg 381. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God from the Prophet Hosea. Hosea, chapters 13 and
14. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 846. The Prophet Hosea, chapter 13
and 14. When Ephraim spake trembling,
he exalted himself in Israel, but when he offended in Baal,
he dined. And now they sin more and more,
and have made their molten images of their silver, and idols according
to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen
They say of them that the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the
morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, and as
the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor,
and as the smoke out of the chimney. Yet I am the Lord thy God from
the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me, for there
is no Saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness,
in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so
were they filled. They were filled and their heart
was exalted, therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will
be unto them as a lion, as a leopard by the way will I observe them. I will meet them as a bear that
is bereaved of her welts and will rend the call of their heart. and there will I devour them
like a lion, the wild beast shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast
destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. I will be thy
king, where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities,
and thy judges of whom thou saidst, give me a king and princes. I gave thee a king in mine anger
and took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound
up, his sin is hid. The sorrows of a travailing woman
shall come upon him. He is an unwise son. for he should not stay long in
the place of the breaking forth of children. I will ransom them
from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Rehentance shall be hid from
mine eyes. Though he be fruitful among his
brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall
come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry,
and his fountain shall be dried up. He shall spoil the treasure
of all pleasant vessels. Samaria shall become desolate,
for she hath rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the
sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women
with child shall be ripped up. O Israel, return unto the Lord
thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with
you words, and turn to the Lord, say unto him, take away all iniquity
and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of
our lips. Ashes shall not save us, we will
not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work
of our hands, ye are our gods. for in thee the fatherless findeth
mercy. I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from
him. I will be as the Jew unto Israel. He shall grow as the lily and
cast forth his roots as lemon. His branches shall spread, and
his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow
shall return, they shall revive as the corn, and grow up, grow
as the vine. The scent thereof shall be as
the vine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, what have
I to do any more with idols? I have heard him and observed
him, I am like a green fir tree, from me is thy fruit found. Who is wise and he will understand
these things, prudent and he shall know them. For the ways
of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but
the transgressors shall fall therein. The Lord bless to us
that reading of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Thou merciful and long-suffering
Heavenly Father, we come before Thee through Thy beloved Son,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We seek to reverence Thy great
and holy name. Lord, renew us again that we
might view Thee and honour Thee as Thy people. Let us be of Thee. people of this earth, that do
show forth thy praise, that do fear thy great and holy name. Lord, we live in a world, in
a country, in a town, which for the most part, there is no fear
of God evident. And Lord, so few desire thy ways. So many things that we hear of
those that despise Thee and Thy Gospel and what Thou hast written
in Thy Word. Thy Word is despised, unread,
unobeyed. And Lord, we see these things
even in our own heart. But Lord, do grant unto us that
we might honour Thee with the honour that is Thine alone. For Thou hast made heaven and
earth and all that is in them. And Thou hast made us, and in
Thee we live and move and have our being. O, do grant unto us
that faith that believes this. We read that he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek thee. O Lord, do grant unto us that
diligence, grant unto us that faith that makes thee a living
reality to our souls. Save us from our unbelief in
every form and every way that it manifests itself and do grant
unto us to truly believe and have that faith that makes hidden
things as if they were revealed and those things that cannot
be seen with the eye to be really perceived and known in our hearts. O Lord, we do beseech of Thee
for those blessings that give evidence of Thy work in our hearts. Lord, do cease not to work in
us to will and to do of Thy own good pleasure and do teach us
through Thy Word that which we are to do to supplicate unto
Thee and how we are to walk. Deliver us from a fatalistic
spirit to deliver us from every wrong spirit and that we might
be of those that look unto Thee for Thy salvation and walk in
the ways that Thou set before us in Thy Word. O Lord, to deliver
us from every evil way and from deceiving our own selves. O Lord,
open our eyes, show us Thy way, lead us in it, to cause that
we might know, as we've read, that our fruit, it flows forth
from Thee. So we ask that blessing personally
for each one gathered to bless us in the sanctuary and those
that may join online. And Lord, do be pleased to grant
spiritual life. Grant, Lord, that right belief
in Thee and a life that answers to that. that we might live a
life of faith and prayer, that we might have godliness within
and without, and that thou save us, Lord, from those vain and
empty thoughts that so often we trust plague us. Oh, leave
us not to go along with them, but, Lord, may we ever resist
them. Do grant unto us grace that we
might gird up the loins of our minds, and even as we gather
in thy house, that thou set our affections on things above, not
on things on the earth. Lord, do help each struggling
one that struggles with the corruptions of their heart, with a depraved
nature, with thoughts off by sin defiled that carry them away,
Lord, do save from besetting sins and do deliver from those
things of which we feel thy hand upon us. Lord, do save us, deliver
us, remember us this morning and bless thy word to us. We
do pray that thou remember us as a church and people and be
pleased to fill this house of God with hungering, thirsting
souls. We pray for those around us in
this town, that thou'st work effectively and savingly here,
and that thou'st bless our neighbours and those that know us, and those
to whom we have spoken thy word. Lord, we do pray for thy spirit's
work. We acknowledge the vital need
of it, and without that, there shall not be anything done. Lord,
do Thou then be pleased to hear us and send now prosperity and
blessing. We would be mindful of Jeremiah
and those prophets that faithfully prophesied in their day and saw
no fruit whatsoever. But, O Lord, we do pray that
in this, our gospel day, that we might see fruit, that there
might be those that are converted, might be those that are comforted,
those that are instructed, those that are guided, those that are
brought to repentance, those that are recovered from wrong
and evil ways, Lord, that thy word might be meat and drink
to the people of God. O Lord, we look to thee, that
thou wouldst help us and be with us. We do pray for those in affliction,
to, if it is thy will, grant thy kind healing hand, and those
that are nearing the time of departure from this life, to
prepare them for it. Yea, prepare us each. that time
when heart and flesh shall fail. Do grant unto us assurance and
a good hope beyond the grave. Do grant faith that believes
so clearly that when this life is done, that we shall have a
life within the veil, that it shall be absent from the body
present with the Lord. O Lord, bless us to walk in the
light of eternity, and with that expectation of dwelling with
Thee, and being free from sin, and free from Satan, and free
from this world. O Lord, do grant unto us that
faith that triumphs over death and gives joys like those above. Bless us with being walking in
the spirit. Save us from our flesh, from
our old nature, from ourselves. Do grant thy word to dwell in
us richly. Leave us not to be like those
that would be an almost Christian, but do make us altogether like
unto thee. May thou be our leader, our guide,
our everlasting home. Forgive and pardon our many sins
and bless us with repentance. We thank Thee for every temporal
mercy and favour Thou hast been good in all our lives. We thank Thee for every mercy
out of a deserved hell. We do pray to be delivered from
murmuring, complaining, from doubts, from fears, from that
which limits the Holy One of Israel, to grant submissiveness
to Thy overruling hand, Bless us, Lord, with an understanding
heart and as observing Thee and Thy ways. O Lord, we thank Thee
for Thy Word and a faithful translation in our own tongue. We thank Thee
that we may gather freely without fear of persecution. No, Lord,
do grant that they'll remember those churches in other lands,
those they cannot meet so freely as we do. We pray for thy people
that do not have those that they may gather with, or a faithful
church in their locality. Lord, do remember them. We pray
for our churches in Australia, in America and Canada, and dear
brethren in those countries. and those in Holland. O Lord,
do remember thy people everywhere, and O Lord, do be pleased to
help us then at this time, and bless this day, the first day
of the week, the day that thou didst rise from the dead and
appear, the day that thou didst turn the sorrowing of thy disciples
to joy, the day that saw the empty tomb, the assurance given
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. We
thank thee for thy sin-atoning sacrifice, for that which was
accomplished, finished, and done at Calvary. We pray for faith,
that we might trust wholly in what thou hast done for our salvation,
and that thou hast grant us to walk as those that are redeemed
and are set free and are thy people. We commit then the week
unto Thee, the ministries in it and all that is set before
us. We pray for grace, we pray for
help, we pray to be kept from sin and evil that it grieve us
not, and that we might walk in Thy light and walk by Thy grace. We ask Thee these things through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. God willing, I am expected to
preach here this evening at 6.30pm and on Thursday evening at 7
o'clock. Next Lord's Day, Mr Philip Buss
is expected to preach in the morning and Mr Mark Seymour in
the evening at 6.30pm. Hymn: 532 Tune: Millennium 551 Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Hosea chapter 13, and our
text, verse nine. O Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself, but in me is thine help. Especially these words, in me,
is thine hell. Hosea chapter 13 and verse 9. We are told in the beginning
of this prophecy, when Hosea prophesied. And it is interesting
that there seems to be an imbalance, you might say, Because it gives
in the kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings
of Judah, which is over quite a space of time. But then it
is in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. And of course this word is unto
Israel, or Ephraim, as it is set forth to the ten tribes that
had departed under Jeroboam I, Jeroboam II, and had made the
calves in Bethel and Dan to storm those ten tribes going back to
Jerusalem and returning to the true and living God. We're told that Hosea, he prophesied
about 755 BC and only 33 years before Ephraim or Israel was
be taken by the Assyrian armies. It appears that this prophecy
would have only been in two years or so. but with the other kings
that are mentioned of Judah, that is a longer period of time. But Hosea was prophesying in
a day that the people that he was speaking to, they did not
turn, they did not repent, they were taken into captivity, And
it is a solemn reminder to us that though the Lord gives many
promises, and though he sets before us even in these gospel
days, the death of his son, the ransom of his people, yet there
are many that will perish, that will never, never be saved. We are not to Think, well, because
the Lord says here that Israel is ransomed, that they're saved,
that all will be saved. We know the warnings that are
in the book of Hebrews about those that were redeemed out
of Israel, that many of them perished in the wilderness. Many
were disobedient. Now Israel, of course, is a type,
as a nation, it is a type. But we are assured that the spiritual
Israel, all of them will be saved. All of those whom God has eternally
chosen shall be saved, those whom he has redeemed at Calvary. But there are many that will
hear the gospel, many that will hear the way of escape, and that
they will not repent and they will not turn and they will not
be saved. And just like Israel, carried
away into captivity. We are not to be fatalistic. We are not to be of those that
listen to parts of the word of God and not other parts. Because as in this chapter and
in these portions, It was not only set before them the deliverance
and the way of escape in the Lord, but also the path that
they must walk and the path that they were to walk in, in which
they did not. They rejected it, and so they
were brought into captivity. And so whenever the word of God
is preached, it does have a bearing on those that hear it that there
is to be a response to it. We know it when we go out around
the town, when we speak to those around us and the things of God.
Some, their response is, but we do not even want to hear it.
They do not want to give us a hearing or to know anything of the things
of God. Others will show some interest.
And after they've heard it, they decide, no, that's not for me.
And in each time, there is a response to the word. And we know with
certainty, with God's people, there will be a turning, there
will be repentance. But we should not delve into
the secret things of God. We should Think of how we respond
to the Word of God and to what is said before us. So in one
way, the prophecy of Hosea is a most solemn prophecy, a reminder
of beautiful things said of the people of Israel, but of those
that turned their backs upon it and the blessing did not come
upon them as a nation. But those things that are said
of Israel here, When we put it in the way of the Church of God,
these are most precious things set before the churches. And as we have in Revelation,
he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches. That which was written aforetime,
that's this, this prophecy was written for our learning, that
we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have
hope. So in one sense, this word, it
brings us wonderful hope. In another, it brings us a real
warning, lest we, like Israel, just go on our way and don't
heed anything of what is set before us here. Israel was in a deplorable condition
Almost as soon as they departed, those ten tribes, they turned
away from the living and the true God. And though Judah, they
had bad kings, but they then had good ones. Those ten tribes
never had good kings at all. They were in a really deplorable
state. And what our text says, O Israel,
thou hast destroyed thyself. It's very, very true of those
10 tribes. It was not the nations round
about. It was not the enemy. It was themselves that had done
it. And most solemnly, even in our land today, how sad it is
often to hear Really the worst enemy the church has are those
that are within the church. Those that are leading the church
into error and away from the word of God. Those that are false
prophets, false leaders. And it's most solemn to hear
those things that come out of the professing and state church,
especially in England today. May we always remember this.
The Lord, when he wrote to the seven churches in Asia, was more
than anything else warning about things within them, not outside
of them, in them. And so here, thou Israel, thou
hast destroyed thyself. We need to always think of this.
It's very easy to blame the day we're living in. It's easy to
blame the things round about us. It's easy for us to compare
ourselves with others and say we're not as bad as them, instead
of comparing us with the holy, pure Word of God. But it is most likely with us,
the same as with Israel. The malady, the trouble is within,
not without. Thou hast destroyed thyself. Our eyes are directed within,
to our own heart, to our own life, to our own ways, to what
we are doing, not round about us, not even unto the Lord. Not to say, well, We can't do
anything about it. This is the Lord that has done
it. And that is directed to Israel. Remember when David numbered
Israel in his day. And we read in one account that
the Lord moved him to do it because of Israel's sin. And the other,
that Satan tempted him to do it. But David was warned by Joab
that it was wrong. And when he was convicted of
it, he doesn't blame the Lord, nor does he blame Satan. He says,
I have sinned. Wherever there is real saving
repentance, it will come to ourselves. And so the Lord says to Israel,
O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself. He puts the blame right
on them, no one else. right on them. May we also hear the word of
the Lord concerning our condition, what we are, how we are, who has brought us where we are.
Why are we like ourselves? Why are we cold? Why are we hard? Why are we worldly? Why are we
far off? Why do not we have any assurance. Why are we so unlike the people
of God? Thou Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself. But in this same verse, in the
same verse, the Lord puts in hope. But, one of those beautiful
buts in the word of God, But in me is thine help. Know for a soul that falls before
this word, soul that acknowledges the Lord is right and says, Lord,
that is correct. I have destroyed myself. I have
walked in these ways that brought me into the condition that I
am in. The Lord has this blessed word
to such, but In me is thine help. And so it is this word of hope,
this that should be really to encourage
us and to open our ear to what the Lord has to say through his
ear to us this morning. So I want to look at three points. Firstly, where their help is
or where our help is, in me is thy help. And then we have secondly, how
God will help them. There are in these two chapters,
chapter 13 and chapter 14, there are four I wills, what the Lord
will do. And then I want to look thirdly
at what they are to do. These chapters are not silent
as to what the Lord required of Israel. But firstly, where their help
is. In me is thine helm. Remember that Israel has gone
after idols. They've made images, as in verse
2, chapter 13, and raised up against the Lord. We're told
that when he spake trembling, then he exalted himself in Israel,
that when he offended in Baal, he died, and their departures
were departing from the living and the true God. They're going after Baal. They're
going after these calves, these idols. And so the very first
thing that the Lord sets before them is that their help is not
in them, but in Him, the God that they have turned their back
upon, the God that they have forsaken for idols, the God that
they have offended and sinned against, that their help is in
Him. How oft we need that encouragement
to realize that the God that we have offended against is the
God that will give us help. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Israel many times, and Judah,
in their history. When they had troubles from surrounding
nations, they looked for help in different directions. With
one king, Asa, in one instance looked for help from the Lord,
and the Lord helped them, delivered them from a million Ethiopians. But then, when they were threatened
again, they sought help from other nations, and the Lord reproved
them. Many times, Israel sought even
to go back to Egypt. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar,
they looked for Pharaoh's help. They did get it, but then they
were told that his help would be in vain, that Nebuchadnezzar
would come anyway. And really the whole story of
Israel is where they're going after false gods and looking
to man for help or looking for some other gods for help. And so the Lord is very clear
in stating where their help is, where they are to look for it
from. You might say, well how does
that? equate to us today? What other helps could we have? When we are far off from the
Lord, when we are in a low condition, where can we be looking for help? We can be looking for it from
man's advice, some self-help remedies. We can be looking for
it for our own diligence. to try and bring ourselves out
of the condition that we're in. We can be secretly looking to
it as well, to somehow please God by our own works, and that
in return for what we do, the Lord will bless us and help us,
as if there is a bartering aspect to it. There are many ways that instead
of looking solely to the Lord for help, for that which comes
from the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that which
comes from His almighty work and power in our souls, in our
lives. We're looking for something that
is natural, a man's thing. Something in our control, in
our power. This is the whole thing with
an idol. You can make it say what you
want, hear what it wants. You can put it where you want.
You can make it be what you'll have it to be. It is in your
power. But when the Lord says, in me
is thine help, thy help is in a sovereign God. A God that chooses
how he will help. when he will help, what he will
do. This is the God where the help
is. You think about it in the time,
say with, when our Lord was on earth and with his dear friends
at Bethany, Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Lazarus was sent. Where was their
help? They knew it was to be with the
Lord, he whom Their lovest is sick, and they have recourse
unto him. But he doesn't come. He stays
where he is. Lazarus dies. But then the Lord
appears and raises him from the dead. Is it true? In me is thine help? They had that severely tried.
But what they were to remember, that help was sovereign. It was
in how the Lord chose to give it, not in how they did it or
their time scale. And we have to remember that.
We think of Naaman as well. He had that expectation of how
the Lord would help him and deliver him from his leprosy. But the
Lord didn't work in that way. And so when the Lord says, In
me is thine help. We must remember that the Lord
is sovereign, and our times are in his hand, and how he helps
and how he deals is in his hand. Those in Jeremiah's day, they
said, well, while we served and worshipped the God of heaven,
or the queen of heaven, Everything went well. But when
we ceased to do that and ceased to offer to her, then everything
went bad. And they use that as an argument
that they would not serve the Lord. And we can do that. Instead of seeking to walk in
the Lord's ways, then we want an instant help. We say, well,
if we turn to this God, then we want instant help on our terms,
in our time, in our way. But may we, before going on any
further in this first point, and faith lay hold upon it, know
that in the Lord, in the God that made heaven and earth, is
our help. Our help is in the name of the
Lord which made heaven and earth. or the psalmist, my help cometh
from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. We are to have that fixed upon
our hearts, where our eyes are to be looking unto the Lord,
as a maid looks unto her mistress, a servant unto his master, so
our eyes look upon thee. though he might come this morning,
feeling to need help in many different ways. Maybe in our
souls, so far off, so low, so hard, so cold, in me is thine
help. Maybe it is in Providence, the
Lord's hand appears to have gone out against us. Many difficulties,
many trials, where shall we go for help? In me is thine help. Maybe we have adversaries without
Satan, the world, all that comes against us. In me is thine help. Maybe it is sickness. Maybe it
is the weakness of our frame, our infirmities, our sins, our
besetting sins. O that I had not a myself. Hymn
writer says, out of self to Jesus lead, for in us intercede. Prayer to the Holy Spirit to
bring out of self in that, in me, is thine help. Whatever the situation for the
people of God, you might say, what is put here is the worst
situation. When we have been the ones that
have done the harm and destroyed ourselves. It's like the Apostle
Paul saying, I am the chief of sinners. If the Lord has shown
mercy to me, the chief of sinners, then he is able to help any. But in me is thine help. So maybe remember this word,
this change, this conflict, Contrast here, on one hand, Israel destroying
herself, on the other hand, help even for Israel is in the Lord. On to look then secondly, how
God will help them. And there are four I wills in
these two chapters. The first is in verse 10. I will
be thy king. This immediately follows our
text. I will be thy king. Remember,
and the Lord refers to this in verse 11, I gave thee a king
in mine anger, that was King Saul, took him away in my wrath. That was when Samuel said they
have rejected me and the Lord said they have not rejected you,
They've rejected me. They wanted a king like all the
other nations, but the Lord was their king and he protested to
them and showed them by destroying their harvest that day that it
was an evil thing, that they should desire to replace him
as their king with a man and to be like the nations round
about. And so this is the The first
thing of thee, I wills and the helps of the Lord, I will be
thy king. The people of God will be ruled
and governed and guided by King Jesus, the King of kings and
Lord of lords. They shall be in his dominion,
his kingdom. Remember the dying thief, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. My kingdom
is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight. But the people of God are part
of a kingdom, and they do have a king, and that king is the
Lord Jesus. This shall be the help for the
people of God to restore again the kingdom under the Lord Jesus
Christ, to set again Him on the throne, not self, not the world,
but the Lord on the throne. May that be so in our lives,
that He again is King. I will be thy King. Then we have in verse 14, I will
ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them
from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from
mine eyes. So thou put this under one heading,
I will ransom them. We have in this 14th verse, We
have four I wills, I will ransom, I will redeem, I will be thy
plagues, that is death, I will be thy destruction, that is the
grave's destruction. This is what the Lord will do.
And we see it in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it in what he
has accomplished at Calvary. He set the people of God free
by the shedding of his precious blood. He has paid the ransom
price, and in doing so, He has destroyed that power of the grave. He has destroyed death. He has
redeemed them from death. How beautifully the Apostle Paul,
when he writes to the Corinthians, his first epistle in chapter
15, And he says at the end of that
chapter, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be written,
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. but thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he sets forth
these same truths in this, I will, the redemption of the Lord. If you and I are helped, it will
be like at the end of Psalm 25, redeem Israel, O God, out of
all his troubles. The only right way to be set
free from our trouble is to be redeemed, that there is a payment
made, a settlement made. There is a debt that is paid. And this is the second I will
of the Lord. This is how the Lord can save
one, help one that has destroyed themselves. because he has paid
the debt. And then it is a matter of mercy,
a matter of grace, because that debt is paid. You might put it
in this way. O Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself. Thou deserved to be destroyed.
Thou art destroyed, thou art lost. But then there's the price
paid. There's a redeeming, there's
a setting free, and a bringing back from destruction. Really,
the whole of the gospel is a bringing back from destruction. Well then we have a third thing,
and this is in chapter 14. And it is in verse 4. I will
heal their backsliding. I will heal their backsliding. And joined to that is another
I will, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away
from him." Very often it is a trial with
the people of God when they realize, when they know that they are
backslidden, that those things that they're backslidden to have
a strong pull. And very often it becomes habitual,
habitual sin, a way that they have learned the way of the heathen,
they've gone that way. And the hymn writer says, nor
can I promise future good to bring, and we cannot. But here,
the Lord says, I will heal their backsliding. I will deal with
that backsliding. And so we have it in the verse
we quoted from 1 John, chapter 1, verse 9. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Where would the help be if the
Lord just paid the debt and settled what was done already? and didn't
make a provision for setting us in a right way and healing
us to walk in the ways of righteousness. But here is this promise of what
the Lord will do to heal that backsliding, to do what we cannot
do, to set us right and to bestow his love upon us again. I will love them freely. for mine anger is turned away
from him." Our Lord's work on Calvary is a wrath-ending sacrifice,
it turns away the anger of God, and God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Well then the fourth one, that
I bring before you is in verse five. And we might say, though
I've said four, we could have had many more I wills throughout
this passage. I will be as the Jew unto Israel. So not only will the Lord heal
back sliding, but now he is going to be the source of their fruitfulness
as they're springing, that dew that softly comes down, that
gives growth, that gives life, that is what the Lord will do. And you see in the I-wills of
the Lord, all that is needed for the people of God is provided
for them. They're given a king, Their debt
is paid, they're ransomed, their backslidings are healed, and
a source of fruitfulness is given to them. Everything is from the
Lord. No wonder our text says, but
in me is thine help, when the Lord provides these things that
he will do. We want to look then, lastly,
at what they are to do or what we are to do. Now I want to make it clear,
this is not a thinking, well, we do our bit, then the Lord
will do his, or that the Lord's helping his people is dependent
upon Israel and that the Lord stands helplessly by and sees
Israel ignoring and not doing what he'd have them to do and
therefore he is powerless. No. But what is set before us
is what the Lord would have us to do, have us to walk in. And we have this firstly in verse
one, Chapter 14. O Israel, return unto the Lord
thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. So our text
says, in me is thine help, what the Lord says to the people of
God that hear this, in me is thine help, return unto me, return
unto the Lord thy God. In other words, it's a call to
repentance. It's the same as Paul in Acts
17, where he's pointing to those at Mars Hill, and he's saying
that in time past, God permitted all the nations to go after their
own idols, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. And
it is to turn away, like Israel here, away from those idols and
away from looking for help elsewhere, and to look solely unto the Lord. And that's what Israel was to
do. And that is what we are also
to do, to return unto the Lord, that we are to come unto Him,
not these other ways, not these false ways, but to the Lord alone. It'd be a blessed thing if we
can testify before the Lord that our eyes are upon thee, our hope
is in thee. Remember, David encouraged himself
in the Lord his God at Ziklag, and the people of God in very
discouraging circumstances, they looked unto him, their faces
were lightened. And this is what is set before
Israel, this is what is set before us. We've gone away, and the
exhortation is to return unto the Lord thy God. We might ask then, how shall
we return? And the answer is given by the
Lord here as well, in verse 2. take with you words and turn
to the Lord." In other words, go in prayer, come before Him
in prayer, and say unto Him, even the words are given us what
to pray, take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so
will we render the calves of our lips. And then it goes on,
a testimony to the Lord in prayer, Asher shall not save us, we will
not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work
of our hands, ye are our gods, for in thee the fatherless findeth
mercy." So their testimony in prayer, that which they were
doing, looking to the work of their hands, or looking to Asher,
looking to somewhere else, There's a testimony in prayer, we're
not, we do not desire to look that way anymore. We have heard
thy word, in me is thine helm. And we're coming before the Lord
in prayer and telling him this, asking him, ask and it shall
be given thee. Seek and ye shall find, knock
and it shall be opened unto you. Never despise words. By thy words thou shalt be justified,
by thy words thou shalt be condemned. The Lord hears his people. He
wants to hear his people. May we come then as set before
us here with these words, coming before the Lord in prayer. We
may say most solemnly that Israel did not do this. As a nation,
they did not. But may this be our path, that
we be a praying people, and we do come in this way. And then
there's another thing, what they are to do as well. And that's
in verse nine. And that is to be wise, to understand
these things. I wonder how many of us seek
and pray that we might understand the way of the Lord and understand
these things. who is wise and he shall understand
these things, prudent he shall know them. For the ways of the
Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors
shall fall therein. When we think of the end of Psalm
107, who so is wise and will observe these things, even they
shall understand. the loving kindness of the Lord. And very often in the Word of
God, we're exhorted to observe, to notice, to look at how these
things are set before us. And in this chapter then, Israel
is told of their condition and how they came by it. They're
told where their help is. They're told what the Lord has
done and what he will do. and then they are directed what
they are to do and how they are to come before the Lord and what
they are to ask of Him. May this then be the path that
we take and that we have the blessing of the Lord and these
things that the Lord has said that He would do for Israel.
Amen. Hymn: 678 Tune: Godrer Coed 925 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.