Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 94 and reading for our
text verses 10 through to 13. Verse 10 to 13. He that chastiseth
the heathen shall not he correct, He that teacheth man knowledge
shall not he know. The Lord knoweth the thoughts
of man that they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou
chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law, that thou
mayest give him rest from the days of adversity until the pit
be digged. for the wicked. Psalm 94 from
verse 10 to verse 13. And what is upon my spirit is
the Lord chastening his people because of their thoughts. You will notice in the words
of our text, in verse 10, We have chastening. He that chastiseth the heathen
shall not he correct. He that teacheth man knowledge
shall he not know. In verse 12, blessed is the man
whom thou chastenest, O Lord, teachest him out of thy law. Seems to flow, doesn't it? Chastening
in one verse and chastening in the other. But there's a verse
in between. And the verse in between is about
thoughts. Thoughts that the Lord knows
and thoughts that He sees are vanity. We cannot escape the
message that the chastening is relating to thoughts. The aim of that chastening is
in verse 13. that thou mayest give him rest
from the days of adversity until the pit be digged for the wicked. This psalm begins with the psalmers
complaining that the wicked are prospering. Verse 3, how long
shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? The picture
is as if God is taking no notice of the wicked. They're walking
outwardly in sin and in wickedness. But here is God's answer for
his people. There is a pit being dug for
the wicked. They are to be destroyed at last. They have their portion in this
life. They think that they get away with sin and all manner
of evil, but there is a judgment to come. But the people of God,
the Lord knows them, He loves them, and because He loves them,
then He'll correct and chasten them, not just for outward things,
but for that which goes on within. And we might say, Chastened for
what? Chastened for thoughts? Has it not been in the news lately
where there have been those that have been silently praying outside
abortion clinics and they've been hauled off to the authorities
for trespassing on land that they're not supposed to be on.
It's an exclusion zone, and you're not judging whether they're doing
right or wrong in doing that, but the thing that they have
been, has been said, well, this is thought police. Something
has just been going on in a person's mind, and the authorities are
going to judge them by what they cannot hear or see, or just what
they're thinking. Of course, natural man, he cannot. He cannot hold people to account
in that way, except when those thoughts then come to be evidence
outwardly, and outward actions. But that is very different with
the Lord, because the Lord, He does really know the thoughts. He does know exactly what goes
on within. And another thing that is so
vital for the people of God, it is within, that they have
His kingdom. My kingdom cometh not by observation,
it is within you. As a man thinketh in his heart,
so is he. And the blessings, the sweet
meditation, communion, fellowship that the people of God have with
the Lord is in the heart. And the Lord says that the heart
of man, deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, and from
out of the heart proceed those evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
all manner of evil. That is the heart by nature. That is what we are by nature. But when the Lord blesses a soul,
when He calls by grace, then makes there to be a change, a
new nature, those new desires and new affections, and there
then is a warfare and a battle within the old nature, still
seeking to cast up all manner of evil thoughts and affections,
yes, in a renewed heart, still, there will be rising up those
sinful thoughts and inclinations, uncalled for, just rising up
and springing up from the corrupt pit of our old nature. The new
man of grace desires that their soul would be that calm, delightful
house of prayer, that it might be the seat of communion, of
fellowship, of meditation upon the Word of God, of thinking
upon the name of the Lord. But instead there is this warfare
for the mind and for the affections. And the Lord takes notice of
what goes on. He knows what is needed for His
people. where his kingdom is, where the
seat of every blessing is within his people. And when he then
notices that there is that which is there, which should not be,
like in the temple, the buyers and sellers. Now, Lord came and
he drove them out. My house is called a house of
prayer. But year made it a den of thieves,
and that can be like that with our hearts and with our thoughts
and with our imaginations as well. And so the Lord then will
deal with his people in love with this aim in view, that they
might be given rest from the days of adversity till the pit
be digged for the wicked, that he would bless them in their
songs. We might try and take great care
over all of our outward walk. We've sung in our hymn for the
people of God, though their outside be kept clean, they feel the
filth within. And we might then think, well,
because the outside is clean, then Surely everything is right. And we wonder why perhaps it
is not right. And we overlook, overlook the
importance of right thoughts, overlook the importance of resisting
evil thoughts. And I want to say right at the
start in this, because many of the Lord's dear people are so
tried even as to their state or whether they are a child of
God because of the things that go on in their mind, in their
thoughts, in their affections. The Lord will not chasten, He
will not deal hardly with His dear people as they are beset
with evil thoughts from the adversary and from their own wicked heart.
He has compassion on them, He has mercy upon them, He feels
for them. He knows our frame. He remembers
that we are but dust. He knows what our old nature
is. But where he sees one of his
children, they're ceasing to realize the evil of evil thoughts. And they allow them to lodge
within them, allow them to take root. They nurture them. They give them food to feed upon. They look upon things, see things
that fuel those evil thoughts. And they nurture them and spend
time going over them and dwelling upon them. And the Lord sees
the difference between one that is Crying out like the psalmist
in Psalm 119, I hate vain thoughts, he says, but thy law do I love. They do not heed the word in
Isaiah, let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts. and let him return unto the Lord. Yes, we have that contrast here. The wicked, it's easy to see
his wickedness as it manifests itself outwardly. But the righteous
man, a man that appears godly, a man that goes to the house
of God, a man that preaches, a man that sits at the Lord's
table, a man or woman that is found amongst the people of God,
the word to him, the unrighteous man, his thoughts. He may profess to be righteous,
but actually, there he is, and in his heart, there are those
things that should not be so. It's no wonder the apostle Paul
He writes to the Philippians and he seeks to direct us to
what are right and good thoughts and good affections. He says
in chapter 4, finally, Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, Whatsoever things are
of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things. So often, you think on other
things. Our minds are like the flowing
garments of the Jews, that when they had to do any work, they
had to gird up, and we are told, gird up the loins of your mind,
running hither and thither, It's a constant, wearing task for
the people of God. And yet they are called to walk
this path, as part of the warfare, fight the good fight of faith,
lay hold upon eternal life, as part of the privilege of the
people of God. And it is that which the Lord
will notice with his dear people, take recognizing of where they
get into a position in which that temple of God, that place
within the bosom of that child that has had sweet meditation,
that has had himself formed there, that has had the love of God
shed abroad in the heart, that it has sweet thoughts of the
things of God, suddenly there in that place, is nurtured, allowed
to stay there, remain there, all that is contrary and vile
and worldly and ungodly. Proud thoughts, vain thoughts,
lustful thoughts, murmuring thoughts, thoughts against the brethren,
thoughts against the Lord, Affections wild by sin defiled, says the
hymn writer of Carry Us Away. So as we said, the Lord has great
sympathy for his dear people as they are beset and attacked
constantly by such thoughts. But when there is a falling in
with them, when there is a peace with them, then he will correct
and then he will deal for those things. I want to notice three
points here. Firstly, our God that corrects
and teaches His people. And then secondly, our God that
knows the thoughts of man and chastens for vain thoughts. And then thirdly, our God that
blesses. Our text opens with the word
that he chasteneth the heathen. Now, in one sense, the Lord's
judgments and dealings on heathen nations is not for their good
or for blessing at all. The Lord dealt with Babylon. They were his servant first in
being the children of Israel in captivity for their sins. But then in time he dealt with
them, and also the Lord's judgments upon Canaan. But we would remember
that those amongst the heathen, the Lord gathers his people from
them. We don't have in this world those
that are born actually God's children and those that are the
heathen and the gospel is only for one section of humanity but
not the other. The Lord knows where his people
are, we do not. And the gospel is to be proclaimed
into every nation and kindred and tongue. And the Lord does
then deal with all nations. And every one of his children
have been brought from being not evidently the people of God
to be the people of God. We know that they are chosen
in Him from the foundation of the world. We know that they
are called, that they are first brought under the rod and brought
to know the Lord because of His sovereign saving grace. But we
have the picture here of a God that does deal with mankind. And the question is asked, shall
he not correct? He that teacheth man knowledge,
I remember all knowledge that man has all comes from God himself. He has given him that wisdom. Man does not have wisdom himself. He likes to think that it comes
from him, but God has given it to him, bestowed it upon him.
But the question is, shall not this God teach? Shall He not
know? Shall He not correct? Yes, the
Lord shall. Our God that corrects and teaches
His people. And this first point I just really
wanted to highlight and make us really consider this. Our
God, the God of heaven and of earth, Our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, He does have dealings with His people. He's not like
an idol that cannot see, that cannot hear, that then if it
did hear and it did see, it cannot act, it cannot have any sway
over us. The Lord is not like man as well. The man himself cannot have power
over another man. We can't change one's heart. We can't work in another's heart. God only can. And we have this
set before us here to really, to think upon this, to think
upon our God. that does correct his people
when they are going wrong. You know, when we were younger
and the cars weren't like they are today, and we used to see
our parents driving and the steering connections, it was all mechanical
and there was a lot of slack in it. So all the time you'd
be correcting with the steering wheel. And when we as children
used to imitate and we'd get the armchairs in the lounge and
make out we were driving a car. One of the great features of
driving the car was to be constantly correcting the steering wheel.
Because it was a bit loose one way, so the car would start going
that way, so you'd correct it with the wheel the other way.
And modern cars are not like that at all. But when we were
young it was. And you think of the Lord, when
we start to go one way, the Lord then corrects and brings us back.
Thou shalt hear word behind thee when thou turnest to the right
hand, when thou turnest to the left. All the time there's a
correction in it. Years ago, on the bridge going
over to Tasmania on the ship, I was being shown round, and
the master of the ship, he heard the helmsman, the one that was
actually guiding the ship, say to the helmsman, Port 10. And as he was speaking to us,
he suddenly, he stopped, he hesitated. And he turned to the man in charge,
he said, with respect, he said, that's a bit hard. And he said,
correction, Port 5. Well, I'm glad he did correct
it, because when that ship turned, even at five degrees, it was
quite a hard turn. But the master had listened to
what the direction was and realized it was too much, and he corrected
it back again. We're used to it in many things
in life. We're one that knows, one that
understands. And he's seeing another one and
acting in a way that they can't just be left on in that way.
They can't just be left to go. There's a correction. There's
a bringing it back again. making that right that was wrong. And this is the picture of our
God. We have a God that will correct
in this way, that shall know, that shall teach. He knows what
is going on. We cannot, and in our right mind,
we would not want to deceive the Lord. We would not want to
try and pull the wool over his eyes. We cannot. But we are to
learn this. We read that though because sentence
against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of man is
fully set in him to do evil. And a child is like that. If
he's led to get away with something, he'll do it again and do it again. And the more he gets away, they
think, oh, well, we do it again because we're getting away with
it. And it needs that correcting. And we're the same. A man is
the same. And even the Lord's people are
the same. And this then is why we have a God that does correct
and does teach. He's one of the marks of the
Lord. And if we are the people of God,
it is one thing that we should Watch and mark, because there
may be those times that we know that no other person has known
what has gone on in our heart. No one has known what we are
going to do or thought to do, but God has known. And he's done
things in our lives to stop that way up, or to show us what is
the right way and what way we're going. to make known to us the
deceits of our heart. And it's a great comfort to know,
thou God seest me, thou knowest me. You know, you think of David,
how did he come to be able to pen the likes of Psalm 139, where
he says that thou hast searched me and known me, thou knowest
by down-sitting, by not rising, thou understandest My thoughts
are far off. They encompass my path and my
lying down, hard acquainted with all my ways. There's not a word
in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me, it is high I cannot attain. unto it. And you read that whole
psalm, very mindful of the Lord's seeing eye over him. And it's a great blessing, instead
of feeling this as a terrible thing, that this is a blessed
thing, that we have this God that does correct and does teach. But then I want to look secondly
at a God that knows the thoughts of man and chastens for vain
thoughts. We've spoken of David and how
that his thought was known by the Lords afar off. And the Lord is the one that
knows what is going on in the hearts of his people. There it
is that he comes and blesses them. There it is that he forms
them to be a dwelling for his spirit. There it is that he places
his word, thy word, have I hid in my heart. that I might not
sin against thee. And the Lord knows the thoughts
then of man. And he can discern, really discern,
whether there is a resisting or whether there is a going along
with those thoughts that arise from the wickedness of the heart.
He discerns the conflict that is within and it is on what he discerns that
he would then chasten and correct. It would be a most solemn thing
if we were just left to go on with an outward form of religion
and that we never ever knew the sweet meditation, comforts, joys
and blessings of the Lord within. The secret of the Lord, which
is with them that fear Him. The blessing of the Lord that
maketh rich and addeth no sorrow within. Dobe, he says, he maketh my heart
soft. The softening warmth of grace.
That still, small voice that is heard within. That manner
that distills the Jew as from heaven. And yet, where does it
go? Where does it enter? Does it
enter into prepared ground? Does it enter into hostile ground? Does it enter into a place where
we'll bring forth fruit or where it will be utterly quenched and
destroyed. Do we, as it were, in the house
of God, or whenever we have our private reading times, have our
minds that they receive the Word of God, but here a few minutes
later, in comes all manner of other thoughts, or we're looking
at things, hearing things, that completely extinguish all that
we've heard, or that we would meditate upon. People of God are to be like
the clean beasts that chew the cart, that go over what they've
heard, and that is what goes on within. It's in the same,
as it were, temple of our thoughts. We're thinking other things and
going over other things. And so, our God, who knows those
thoughts, you are chastened where it is seen. There is not resistance,
where there is a relishing of them, a going after them. And
you might think, well, surely some thoughts are not so bad.
When we think, if we go to the library and we see rows and rows
of books, and they're under the title Fiction, You know, those
books have arisen from just the thoughts of men's hearts. They're
not things that really happened. They are things that have been
imagined. Man can, if he cannot do something,
or cannot walk in a way, it's easy to fantasize, to imagine,
to picture it, to write a story in which he is the master of
the beginning and the ending of it, and all that happens in
it. And we can be exactly the same, even in spiritual things,
even in deceiving our own soul. But as regards the sinfulness
of our heart, we can be of those that have within, not a real
part, but an imagined path. Vain thoughts, empty thoughts,
with no foundation. We mentioned the sieve of Paul's
letter to the Philippians, to put it through. Is the thing
that we're thinking of true? Is it honest? Is it just? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it a good report? Is there
really any virtue in it? Is there any prize in it? How
many of our thoughts would fail that? And it is where those things
are nurtured that are really detrimental to our soul, and
the Lord sees it, and the Lord then deals with it. You might
say, how does the Lord chasten with their thoughts? we had this
morning, and the Lord chastening by sending leanness into our
souls. And if we are a living soul,
we will feel that. And presented before us will
be this, you might say, these two ways. If you want to relish
and have all these thoughts on the one hand, you can have them,
but You won't have fatness of soul, you'll be leanness of soul. You have no assurance of life
and no comfort and no real token for good. You cannot serve God
and mammon. So that is one way the Lord chastens,
which is unique to God's children, is to give them that leanness
so that they don't relish the Word of God, don't profit from
it, They do not have those sweet blessings. The Lord says, I'll
return unto my place until they acknowledge their transgression. They will seek me early when
it is that they miss my presence. The Lord can use other things
as well, whether it be health, removing our health, bringing
us into affliction, bringing things upon us, One thing after
another, going wrong, the lass is steeped, he on the lace is
in writer, yet softened in his blood. But whatever the Lord
uses, he will be sure to show the reason why. And it may be
the word this evening is a word in season, it is a word to give
the reason why the Lord's hand is upon us. Why we are what we
are. It was said of the Apostle Paul,
it is hard for thee to kick against the prince. Very often with us,
there will be those pricks, we will know that the word that
is spoken is true and is right. And we know that the Lord is
just in what he does. So a God that knows, There'll
be those aspects with his chastening that we are convinced the Lord
does see us, he does know us. The timing of it is so exact. We think of the king that could
not work out why it was that Israel always knew where he was
going to be. They always saved themselves. And he thought there was a spy
in his own camp amongst his own servants. But one of his servants
said, no, there's none of us here for Israel. But it is Elisha. It is the prophet. And he is
telling the king of Israel what your plans are that are made
in secret. That's how it's been known. And
you see, the Lord knows what is going on in secret. He that seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly. Why the Lord directs when we
pray to go into our closet, shut the door and pray unto our God
in secret. He that seeth in secret, he that
knoweth. Think of how many prayers we
may offer up and they're in our thoughts. Some of you may pray
and sometimes it's good when you can Pray audibly when you're
in private, if you've not got those over here. But many times
we may pray and our private prayers will be in our thoughts. And then we finish prayer and
then what is in our thoughts? And then what is going on in
that same place? James, he speaks about speaking,
using our tongue. One moment to bless the Lord,
and the next moment to curse our brethren. But we can be like
that with our thoughts as well. And it's for these things that
the Lord then corrects. And the whole idea of correcting
is to bring us back from that slippery slope, back from that
snare, back from that slowly imbibing more and more and getting
down into the pit of thinking, There is no hope for me, this
is how I am, this is what is going on. We like a life of ease,
a life of peace. The idea of a constant battle,
resistance, crying to the Lord that he would deliver us and
save us from those evil thoughts that come in. We don't like that,
it's hard work. But dear friends, it's vital
and it's necessary. ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin. And sin is not just outward,
it's inward. In fact, all sin, it begins inward. And if left unchecked, then it
comes outward. So our God that knows the thoughts
of man, he chastens for vain thoughts. Your thought is this
evening, what? The Lord chastened for that?
Surely he wouldn't. My life is upright. I read the
Bible, I have my times of prayer, I go to the house of God. Surely
the Lord's not going to take notice of what I'm thinking. He does, and it's vital that
he does. I want to notice lastly our God
that blesses. We have in verse 12, blessed
is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out
of thy law, out of the word of God, that thou mayest give him rest
from the days of adversity until the pit be digged for the wicked. And what a following on, the
Lord will not cast off his people. No, not his people that are plagued,
that are troubled by their old nature. He won't. But instead
he will chase them. That beautiful Hebrews 12 speaks
of that mark of a son or a daughter. And it is a blessing of the Lord. Often we might pass over what
are real blessings of the Lord, just thinking it is things that
are pleasing to us and not looking upon those things that are corrections. How many of the people of God,
and I hope I've had those times, I bless the Lord for afflictions,
bless the Lord for sickness, bless the Lord for even shutting
my mouth and stopping the ministry, and making us see why. Make us to search and know what
the Lord would have us to see, otherwise those things they escape
our sight, we pass by them, but to see them as a blessing. Who
so is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand
the loving kindness of the Lord. Solemn thing if we only view
the Lord's blessings in smooth things and we never see that
which the hymn writer says sometimes the Lord wraps in frowns as well
as smiles some tokens of his love. We are exhorted not to
despise or think light of or small of the chastening of the
Lord. Well, the message this evening
is not only not to despise, but to actually recognise what the
Lord may be chastening for, what the Lord does chasten for, what
the world would scoff at and thought, well, that's a silly
thing. Why should the Lord? Deal with
that. Why should he take knowledge
of that? But we should not be like that. And if we know what
it is to have the real blessings and comforts and joys of the
Lord in our soul, we should realise what a danger, what an adversary,
what contrary thing, are vain thoughts. to the thoughts of
the Lord and the sweet meditation of what the Lord has done for
us, done for us on Calvary's tree, suffered, bled and died,
risen again, suffered to set us free, not suffered to enable
us to continue in sin that grace might abound. But his name is
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins, including
their sins of thought. Our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted. To be tempted is not sin until
we take up with that. And may we then be delivered
from going along with Satan's temptations or the receipts of
our heart. the sweet blessings of his presence
within, a calm, delightful house of prayer, the sweetness of the
Lord's presence. May the Lord add his blessing
and make it work for good for us, including me and each one
of you, that you might know that blessing of the Lord that maketh
rich, addeth no sorrow with it. Amen.