Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the passage we read, Isaiah
chapter 30, and reading from our text, verses 20 and 21. Isaiah 30, verses 20 and 21. And we read, Though the Lord
give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more,
but thine eyes shall see thy teachers, and thine ears shall
hear a word behind thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it,
when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30 and verses 20 and 21. Isaiah was in the days of Hezekiah,
the king of Judah, and in the days that the Assyrians came
against them. And really, if you were to look
on a map, you'd find how the Assyrians had conquered the nations
all the way around. And in the end, the Lord preserved
Judah, and left them as really a beacon upon a hill in the midst
of those nations unconquered, and the Lord delivered them.
But leading up to that, they were a rebellious people, as
is spoken of here in this chapter, and yet the Lord was going to
be very gracious to them. He warned them not to flee to
Egypt, not to find help in any other, and certainly Hezekiah,
He strengthened his people in the Lord. He encouraged them
in the Lord. The enemies, the Assyrians, they
knew that. And they sought to discourage
them, especially those on the wall and those that were defending
the city, that they should not trust in the Lord. But we read
as Hezekiah pointed them to the Lord and encouraged them, they
rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah. It's a good thing
when the Lord raises up a leader like him that should listen to
the prophets, that should be touched in his own heart and
point those that are under him to the true and to the living
God. But as well as being a help for
the people at that particular time, there is that here which
speaks of gospel days and of what the Lord will do for his
people in teaching and instructing them. Be mindful of the wonderful
promises that the Lord has received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious
also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. And here it
is, the rebellious are spoken of here, but God is being gracious
to them. And for everyone that does know
their own heart and the workings of it, it will be an encouragement
to know that even that is not too much for the Lord. And the
Lord knows how to deal with us better than what we know how
to deal with ourselves. And so in the lead up to our
text, the Lord says that he will Wait, there will be a set time.
There will be a time that at first they are just resisting
and fighting against the word of the Lord. They're trying to
escape, they're trying to run away from anything, but bow before
the Lord. Anything that be in submission
to the Lord's hand. But the Lord waits, and He waits
for the right time. And then that He may be gracious
unto you. You think of those times the
Lord has waited in the Scriptures. You think of when Goliath came
up against Israel. For 40 days he defied Israel. Why didn't the Lord send David
the first day to fight against Goliath? He waited 40 days. 40 days is a testing time. Israel had to prove that. No
strength, no help in all of their armies, not in Saul, none at
all. but the Lord's provision in David.
And David had to be exalted before the people as the next king. And the Lord used that event
to thrust him into the limelight and to truly show that the Lord
was with him. But the Lord waited. And we find
the same with Joseph dealing with his brothers. He doesn't
see them when they first come and makes himself known to them.
He waits. And he deals with them. And He
makes them to smart, and in their troubles and in their afflictions,
they remember what they've done to Joseph. They don't know Him,
they don't know who it is dealing with them, but He waits. And the Lord does this. He doesn't
immediately jump in, as it were, and help His people. They fall
down, there's none to help, then they call unto the Lord in their
trouble. We think of in the New Testament,
the accounts of the woman with the issue of blood. 12 years
she had that, 12 years. And yet the Lord at a point of
that time, you think of the one that had been born blind. The
Jews thought there was some reason in him and reason in his parents
why he's born blind. The Lord says, no, that the glory
of God, the power of God might be shown in him. He was of age,
all his life he'd waited as born blind till that time. The Lord
should work that miracle. And the Lord has that set time
to favour Zion and to appear for his people. In the meantime,
it's like here, they're rebellious, they're kicking like Saul, Tarsus,
Paul, the Apostle Paul. It's hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. We're not told what went on before
that Damascus road, but I can picture it just like this chapter
here. those things that he was resisting,
the pricks of conscience and those who can tell that this
people is, are the people of the Lord and that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Christ. The Lord waits and it is for
this purpose not to destroy his people, that he may be gracious
unto you. Grace, the free, unmerited favour
of God, not deserved at all. In fact, it is kindness in the
face of provocation and ingratitude. And it is that he will be exalted,
that he may have mercy upon you. Again, it's emphasised mercy
you can never earn it, it's never deserved. For the Lord is a God
of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait
for Him. Then again in verse 19, Thou
shalt weep no more. He will be very gracious unto
thee, the voice of thy cry, when he shall hear it. Again, with
Saul of Tarsus, behold, he prayeth, brought to pray, brought to cry. But at first we don't, and at
first the people of God don't, but they are brought to it. And
then we have the words of our text. And though the Lord give
you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet
shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine
eyes shall see thy teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word
behind thee saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn
to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. want to look
then with the Lord's help at three points. Firstly, we have
a promise to go with adversity and affliction. Though the Lord
give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet, and then there's the promise that is attached to that. And then secondly, teachers that
are seen. Thy teachers, Yet shall not thy
teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall
see thy teachers. But not only that, in the third
place is those directions that are heard. We don't just see
the teachers, we hear what they're saying, we hear a voice in them.
Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, this is the
way, walk ye in it. when you turn to the right hand
and when you turn to the left. So first we have a promise to
go with adversity and affliction. Let's think first just of the
bread of adversity and water of affliction. You know those
things that are troubles, troubles in our circumstances, things
that are hard to bear, Afflictions, sicknesses, illnesses, those
things are not pleasant to the flesh, and we would very seldom
join those with actually a forerunner of the Lord's appearing, and
Lord's help, and the Lord's blessing to be upon us. But he joins these,
and we read in another place, I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction. And when we think of the time
when our Lord was on earth, How many that were brought to him
came because of literal afflictions, sicknesses in themselves or their
loved ones. Those were the things that used
to bring them to the Lord. They used under the Lord's hand.
Now when we, in a very natural sense, we could hear of wonderful
physicians and doctors and surgeons But if we haven't got that illness,
it means nothing to us, and it certainly wouldn't move us to
go to them and seek them out at all. What a difference it
would be if we were in affliction and were sick and were unwell. Of course, we would remember
as well the reason why there is troubles and afflictions is
because of sin. It's because of sin. The consequences
of sin, the curse, due to that. And it is a great mercy if the
Lord brings those things before the day of our death, before
the body's brought down, those things to make us to know our
mortality, to bring us to know that this world is polluted,
it is not our rest, because man will, if everything goes well,
he seeks his rest here below. But the Lord is pleased to make
In the case of His people, those troubles and afflictions work
for good. And so this is not coming by
chance. We should always remember that,
dear friends. Afflictions and adversities,
they don't come by chance. And especially in the case of
the Lord's dear people, there is a gracious purpose in them. Though the Lord give you the
bread of adversity. We read in another place, cast
thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. And if
you were to look into the margin, you see it could also be rendered
gift. Cast thy gift upon the Lord. The Lord gives these burdens,
gives these adversities, gives these things to bring to the
Lord. The cause that is too hard for
you, bring it unto me and I will hear it. And so we might think
it is Against us? Jacob thought that, didn't he?
All these things are against me. Yet they weren't. We know
from the account that they were all for good. They were working
for good. Joseph was alive. And the things were in process
so that he would actually see him and be with him. But he couldn't
see that. And maybe you can't either. In
your present circumstances, your troubles, your trials, you cannot
see how that is working for good at all. You may have looked,
you may have traced it right through, tried to see something
encouraging and you can't. You just said, all I have to
eat as it were is these troubles and adversities and afflictions
and trials. But here we have a promise that
goes along with this. Though the Lord give you these
things, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner There's
a promise of teachers, and really we may say there's a promise
of being taught. And we think of the promises
of scripture, that in Jeremiah, where, or Isaiah first, Isaiah
later on in 54, all thy children shall be taught of the Lord,
great shall be the peace of thy children. Then in Jeremiah, they
shall not teach every man his neighbor, saying, know the Lord,
for they shall all know me from the least even unto the greatest.
And that is taken up in Hebrews as well, quoted there of that
covenant that God makes with his people, that he shall teach
them. Yes, he will use means, but they
shall be taught to the Lord. He, in the end, is the teacher. He is the instructor. And He
gives this promise of teaching. May our prayer be, that which
I see not, teach thou me. Teach me thy ways, O Lord. Ask for that direction and teaching
and instruction. Remember, that is what the Lord
Jesus on earth was. For those that came, Nicodemus,
wasn't it? We know that thou art a teacher
come from God. That's what our Lord was. As
He was wont, He taught them again. Every now and again there was
an interlude, He healed some, He raised some from the dead,
went then straight back to His teaching, straight back to instructing,
and that was His ministry. And as well as feeding, Peter
was told, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, as well as that, the
ministry is to be a teaching ministry. as well, and the Lord
teaching his people through that, so they're not ignorant, but
taught of God. But the Lord doesn't only use
the ministry, but in this first point, it is the promise of being
taught. How much in the verses of our
text is very personal. It's not just saying, though
it would apply to all of the Church of God, but a voice to
each one, particularly, the Lord give you the bread of adversity
and the water of affliction. And really the character's already
pointed out, if you say, well, that's me, I'm in that trial,
you can't escape the next bit where it says, Yet shall not
thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine
eyes, not someone else's eyes, your eyes. You might look upon
someone else and say, what you're going through, aren't you learning
from that? Aren't you being taught from that? You're not to see
for someone else, it's your eyes. Open thou mine eyes, that I might
behold wondrous things out of thy law, says the psalmist. Thine
ears shall hear word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk
ye in it. When ye turn to the right hand,
and when ye turn to the left, it is very personal. And we need,
and we often say here, we need a personal acquaintance with
the truth, a personal teaching, that which applies to us. So we have this promise. I wonder
how many of us here, that we plead this, we turn it into a
prayer, we ask the Lord to teach us, to instruct us. You know,
even in a natural way, at school, if you have a student that doesn't
want to be taught, they're very hard to teach. So easily distracted,
they don't want to learn at all, But one thing the Lord will do
with His people is make them teachable. And part of the afflictions
and troubles, it opens the ear and makes them teachable. Why
was it before Elijah called the people up to Mount Carmel, challenged
them, how long halt ye between two opinions? Why did it have
to be three and a half years of famine? Again, there's a waiting.
Until that set time, the people then were willing, willing to
listen, willing to put on trial bail, willing to come up to the
top of karma. We need to be made willing to
be taught a teachable spirit. But here is a promise that goes
with adversity and with affliction. May we be encouraged with that.
on to then look secondly at the teachers that are seen. If this is a promise, then it
will be brought to pass. How is it brought to pass? How
is it experienced by the people of God? Because the promise says
here that shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any
more. Now it implies this, that there
have been teachers already, but they've been not prominent not
in the forefront, but off into a corner, pushed to one side. But now they're going to come
to the forefront, and that shall be the main thrust that there
shall be taught. In another place we read about
how the Lord shall teach his people, here a little, there
a little, line upon line, precept upon precept. And the Lord does
teach in that way. But here it is shown as a time
that the Lord put his hand to the work, and he teaches, as
it were, with that clear purpose of bringing clearly out of the
troubles, out of darkness and into the light, the glorious
light of the gospel. Not in a corner, but prominent,
so that the subjects here, they recognize these teachers. Now
we mentioned concerning the Lord, and pointing to gospel days,
pointing to when the promised seed of the woman should come,
the Messiah should come, the woman at the well of Samaria.
The one thing she knew about the Messiah was, when he cometh,
he shall teach us all things. That he shall tell us of those
things that she knew, she'd have been told by this man of things
about her life that she knew only a prophet, I perceive that
thou art a prophet. And he says then that I am the
Christ, I am he that speaketh unto you, am he. And yet the
Lord was dealing with her, she saw her teacher in that way and
recognised him. So in one sense there were those
in the times of our Lord, that they saw Him as a teacher come
from God, they were taught by Him, they were instructed, they
recognised that this was He that should come. But the Lord still
teaches His people. Now the Lord has suffered, bared
and died, ascended up into heaven, His commission for his disciples
and the apostles was going into all the world, preach the gospel
to every creature, teaching them to observe all things that I
have commanded you, teach all nations. So those of the apostles
and preachers, they shall also be teachers. And in one sense,
if you think of how it was in these Old Testament days, They
had the prophets, just one or two or so at each time in Israel. Not a great number, but then
you think of these gospel days, and you think with us here, if
you drew a circle around our church here, just with the gospel
standard churches in 15 mile radius, we'd get nine of them.
And most of them have got pastors. You think right through the world.
There are the teachers, instructors, and pastors over the flocks and
over the people, and they are seen. They stand before the people,
as I do this evening, and preach the Word. And you can see who
God is using to make known His truth and to reveal that truth. So we view it as a prophecy in
that way, and fulfilled in that way. But I feel much more, in
a very personal way, when the Lord begins to deal with His
people, then there are those things that He uses to instruct
them and to teach them. There's one case that I draw
your attention to in the Old Testament, and that is the case
of when Jehoshaphat was joining himself to Ahaziah. Ahaziah was the son of Ahab,
who did very wickedly. And he joined himself with him,
seemed to be one of the weaknesses of Jehoshaphat, that he kept
joining himself to ungodly men. He may have said, well, let's
do the Israel and the other 10 tribes, But they didn't fear
the Lord, they didn't have the same God, the same faith at all. And so as he tried to do that,
tried as it were turning one way or another after them, we
read that the Lord sent a prophet to him. Jehoshaphat had joined
Ahaziah to make ships to go to Tarshish, They made them in Isai
and Geba. Then Eliezer, the son of Dodovah,
the Marisha, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because
thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken
thy works, and the ships were broken, that they were not able
to go to Tarshish. Now we read that in 2 Chronicles
and chapter 20, the last verses of that chapter. But we have
the equivalent, the same account in the book of the Kings. And in that account, we don't
read of the prophet, we just read of the providences that
happened. So in 1 Kings 22, the last chapter
in 1 Kings, we have Jehoshaphat, in verse 48, Jehoshaphat made
ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold. But they went not,
for the ships were broken at Esai and Geba. Then said Ahaziah
the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, let my servants go with thy servants
in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. Jehoshaphat had learnt his lesson. There'd been a voice to that,
and he'd listened to it. Now we can be the same, we can
be doing wrong things, walking in a wrong path. We hear the
reproof from the Word of God, maybe through the Lord's servants
or through His Word, but we continue walking in it and the Lord touches
those things. He breaks them. And others say,
well, it's probably because you didn't know how to do it properly.
Let me help you. But, We learn the lesson, we
hear the rod and who has appointed it, and it's a voice to us and
we can see that that which has happened has been something the
Lord has used to teach us and instruct us. The Lord uses providence. One of our dear friends used
to say, he that will observe providence will never lack a
providence to observe. If we are all the time thinking,
well, that's chance, and that just happened, and there's no
purpose for it, we miss out on all of that teaching and all
of that instruction. But if we really believe and
know that my life's minutest circumstance is subject to design,
that a hair of her head cannot fall, a sparrow cannot fall,
but the Lord doesn't know of it, then we will mark those things. You think of Psalm 107, all the
things that were happening. What was the common thread there? Was that they were brought into
situation after situation, they fell down, there was none to
help. Well, who had they been seeking help from? Not the Lord
first, obviously. They fell down, none to help,
then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, And the Lord
saved them out of their distresses. O that men would praise the Lord
for His goodness and mercy to the sons of men. And that happened
again and again. And at the end of that psalm,
we read, Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they
shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. The Lord's loving
kindness is a loving kindness to be understood. If a parent
was to give sweets and nice things to their children, the children
would say, well that's nice, that's loving-kindness. But if
the children did something wrong and they got a smack and got
chastened and got banished, then they would need to understand
that there is much loving-kindness in that, as in the good things
that are being given them. And so it is with the Lord's
dealings with us as well. The Lord laughing in frowns as
well as smiles and tokens of his love. Those shut doors, those
things that have been touched and marred and gone wrong and
broken. How many times we've seen them
as a teacher that the Lord has brought it for a purpose and
a reason. Watch properly, remember what
it was reading. Romans 8 verse 28, we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them that are the called according to his purpose. A working of
providence, a working of the word. In John 6 we read one day
the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, the next day we have
them following him over the sea, the miracle of walking on the
water. And then he reproved them. He
said, you see me not because she saw the miracles, but because
she partook of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the
bread that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto eternal
life. And then from that flowed that
whole discourse that was really based on the back of the miracle
and of the loaves and the fishes. And so we have those times where
the Lord joins those two things together, and the providences
are a lesson, a voice to us. I mentioned about the sparrow,
and I always remember the time, and no doubt I've mentioned it
before, when I felt so alone, as if the Lord was completely
departed from me, I couldn't find Him, couldn't find access
in prayer, I felt the Lord so far off, and I went across the
field, across the graveyard actually, and the footpath, the head down,
head bowed down, and I come across a dead sparrow. And I stopped
and I looked at that sparrow, thought, you've been thinking,
the Lord is far off, but he must be near because that sparrow
could not fall, except the Lord was here and saw it. And it picked
me up. It really, really encouraged
me and picked me up. And it's been many times like
that in Providence that the Lord has had a voice and spoken to
me in it. Those things that we resist or
think that they are bad things or things that are against us. Not long after we came over from
Australia here and I was working for the Australian firm, so working
for myself really, and the car went wrong. It had to go to Hayward's
Heath with it. And I thought at first, what
a waste of a morning. All that journey over there,
get it fixed, a journey back. But as I started to drive, I
tried to pray, Lord, make this a blessing. May I have a spirit
of prayer and speak to me in the way through thy word that
it might not be wasted. And that was when, just passing
Hawkerst, over the hill there, the Lord dropped in, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love, and with loving kindness have
I drawn thee. A very sweet blessing, joined
together between here and Australia, the word that had been given
to me in Australia years ago, that I wondered whether it really
was of the Lord or not. Immediately the Lord dropped
it in, in that car. He brought to remembrance, went
first. He'd spoken that to my soul.
And it was a very sweet time. You don't forget those times,
because it's not only the Word, it's joined with providence as
well. And you think, that broken car, what a teacher, what a lesson
that that was. And how the Lord uses those things. We often forget, don't we? Next
time something goes wrong, we still fret. We still kick against
the pricks when we get hindrances on the road. We don't think,
well, how many times have we been held up and we've proved
there's been a purpose we've been held up. And yet we are
to learn by these things. And those teachers are actually
seen and brought to the forefront. And you realize that the Lord
has used these providential things, used these afflictions, used
people, used even unbelievers in the things that they have
said and what they have spoken to you. Many times, things have
been like this. People have said they haven't
known why they said what they've said or what the meaning to me
has been. The Lord has spoken to me through
them. And they've been a teacher. They're not removed into a corner. You know, the Lord used it very
often with the prophets. He said, go down to the potter's
house Watch the potter and get a lesson from that. See how he's
forming the pot. I can do that with you just like
that. Just the other day, boy, I went
for a walk with the woods, saw them all coppicing and all the
trees all down. Well, I know from over the years
that you give a couple of seasons or even one season, go down there
a few months' time, and you'll find the sprouts coming up of
those stumps. The hope of a tree, if it be
cut down. The scent of water, it will sprout
again. And they are lessons, lessons
in the word, and lessons in providence, and in creation. A voice to us,
that speaks to us. Teachers that are not removed
into a corner anymore, but our eyes see them. Bless the Lord,
if ever he has opened our eyes to see something that he has
used to teach us a lesson, to teach us about ourselves or teach
us about himself, to teach us gospel praise, to teach us that
which only the Lord is able to teach. All our children shall
be taught of the Lord. None teacheth like him, because
he knows us through and through. He knows what we need. He knows
what instruction that we need. We are ignorant ourselves and
you think of with our Lord teaching his disciples, when he rose from
the dead then opened he their understanding that they might
understand the scriptures, be taught and to have those things
interpreted to us. Well it is not just then the
teachers that are seen, but it is the voice that is in them. No, it would be something very
grieving to a teacher. If he was all the time teaching
his students, they never put into practice what he taught
them. They never took any notice. It didn't affect their lives
at all. It was a wasted instruction. While here we read, thine ears
and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, this is the
way, walk ye in it when ye turn to the right hand and when ye
turn to the left. This is really highlighting the
whole reason for the teaching, to bring us into the way and
keep us in the way of truth, the narrow way that leadeth unto
life that few find because Wide is the gate, broad is the way,
that leadeth unto destruction, and many there are which go in
thereat. Here is a instruction, a beautiful
word in Psalm 32, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
which thou shalt go, I will guide thee with mine eye. Then there's
their caution, be ye not as the horse of the mule, which hath
no understanding, whose mouth must be held in, lest they come
nigh thee. And the picture, of course, if
a rider is on a horse, he has a bridle, and he wants it to
go one way, he pulls the rein, the head pushes round, and away
they go that way. And the horse, without any understanding,
has been forced to go either way. But you imagine if you had
a rider, and no reins at all, he just sat on the horse, and
he said, turn right, turn left, stop, and he just erected it
with his word. It's what the Lord is saying,
I use my eyes, I will show you which way to go, and you just
listen, you just listen to my word, and you just go in the
way that I will show you and instruct you in. And so this
is the promise, thou shalt hear a word behind thee, saying this
is the way, walk ye in it. In one sense, it pictures to
us that venturing, that walking. It's not sitting and saying,
well, I am too fearful. I'm not going to venture in any
of the ways of the Lord. And sometimes we get in that
in Providence, don't we? We think, how can I know which
way to go? I've got to make a decision.
I've got to know which way to go. And maybe so frightened that you
don't know which way. Believe this, if we have clearly
laid it before the Lord, that we have searched in his word
to make sure that we're not going directly contrary to his word,
and we laid the matter before the Lord, he will not suffer
us to do wrong. And if we do start to venture
in the wrong way, he will put those shut doors, he'll put those
things that hinder us And then is where we see them as a teacher
and hear the voice in them that that's not the way. Paul, he
said, he tries to go to Bithynia and into Asia. We find the spirit
suffered him not, forbidden to go that way. But which way? Then a vision. Come over into
Macedonia and help us. Two shut doors and one open door. Which was the one that was the
direction? All of them. All of them, all of them were
his teachers. And so we have the Word that
goes with it. Very often it is from the very
Word of God that the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance and
speaks those words to our souls. But the Word is to direct us
in the right way. What a blessed thing, where the
Lord uses these things and these teachers to direct us to Himself,
to the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I am the way, the truth
and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. And no man can come unto me except
the Father which sent me draw him. The true teaching of the
Holy Spirit will always direct unto Christ. It won't just remain
a providential thing, It won't just remain something concerning
our lives here, but direct us so that we put our whole trust
for time and eternity in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are told,
if thou hast run with a footman and they wearied thee, how wilt
thou do in the swelling of Jordan? Or really, if we couldn't trust
the Lord or look to Him in the scenes of life, how will we do
when we come down to death? It's a good thing when we can
be like David. We mentioned him going against
Goliath, but that wasn't the first time the Lord appeared
for him. The first time was when he was looking after the sheep,
and the bear came, the lion came, and the Lord appeared for him
then. You might say to David, well, there's no comparison. How can you draw? a parallel
and say, because God appeared for you and delivered you out
of the paw of the bear and the lion, he would deliver you from
this Goliath. There's no comparison. But it was a right way. David
saw the Lord was his helper then. and the Lord would be his helper
in this, though it be different circumstances, though it be a
different adversary, a different enemy, a different time, the
Lord was the same, and he knew all those things that had been
happening and come to pass. And so with the ways of the Lord,
if the Lord has helped and been with us in providential things,
we read in Peter, If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is
gracious. And this is what the context
here is, a gracious God. If you've tasted the Lord is
gracious as coming unto a tried stone, coming unto the Lord that
is the rock of our salvation and is leading from those providential
things to him. You think of the woman who came
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Why? What was her cause? Her daughter that was afflicted.
Did she only get healing for the daughter? No. Great is thy
faith. Great is thy faith. She came
to the Lord. She came to worship him. And
she was given those blessings. And those temporal blessings,
really, you might say to her, would have been the lesser. but
that she'd been blessed by the Lord, the man that was born blind.
He did not even know who it was that had opened his eyes until
the Lord came and met with him. Dost thou believe on the name
of the Son of God? Who is he, Lord, that I might
believe? I that speak unto thee, am he. And that was his greatest
blessing. A great blessing, yes, to have
literal sight, but a greater blessing to have a sight by faith
and to view in that Jesus of Nazareth despised and rejected
of men as a root out of dry ground and to worship Him and to believe
in Him. The teaching then of God's people,
the Lord doesn't aim low. He aims with a purpose that they
might know Him. they might know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. That shall be
the joy and gladness of the people of God, that that which the Lord
is teaching them, and opening their eyes, and the word that
they hear, remembering John 10, the mark the Lord gives of His
sheep, My sheep, they hear My voice, and they follow Me. And where that they don't follow,
they do. And they have that mark of being
His sheep, in that they do know Him. And it is through His teaching,
and it is through His instruction. They know and learn by experience
and by the Lord's dealings with them. You wouldn't think of a
child at school saying to them, or some might try, but saying
to their teachers, Now this is what I want to be taught, this,
this, this, and you teach it in this way. Now the teacher
decides when they're taught, what they're taught, how much
they're taught. They decide that. If you and
I are taught by the Lord, He will decide. He'll decide when
and how He instructs us. But it is a blessing here that
we begin to see what He is using. See that things are not by chance,
that there's an end a word that is made life and
power to our souls, and it makes the Lord Jesus Christ precious,
leading us to His precious blood, His sacrifice, His offerings,
from our tribulations and our adversity, to the man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. So the hymn writer, his path
was much rougher and darker than mine, and shall my Lord suffer,
and shall I repine. led to view him, and I, if I
be lifted up above the earth, will draw all men unto me. I well remember that time, walking
back from here, been to the co-op to buy some food, and walking
back up the hill to our home, not for that long distance, but
the bags were cutting into my hands, and I thought, I can only
go a few more steps, I'm going to put these down, I can't stand
this anymore. And then it come to my mind, He couldn't come down. He couldn't
escape the pain of the nails and that on his shoulders and
in his hands. And I thought, you don't put
those bags down. You walk home with them like
that. And again, it's something I've never ever forgotten. I
can picture that time. It's a simple, simple illustration. But that was one of the teachers
that I had that led me straight to the cross and straight to
think of my Lord. while feeling something of pain
in my own body, how easy it is to forget that as well as the
weight of his people's sin and the darkness through the hiding
of his father's face, it was all the tremendous physical pain
as well that our Lord endured. It's a blessed thing to have
some little fellowship with the Lord in his sufferings. Sometimes you might hear of one
another who have some illness or pain or some break, and you
hear about it, and it doesn't touch us, and then the same thing
happens to us, and then we remember, and we remember what they have
gone through, and what they have endured as well. And it brings
that fellowship, and sometimes sorrow and sadness, and we realize
what they endured. May the Lord bless this Word
above all that May we be those that do see our teachers, that
do hear his word, and that he does hedge us about, direct us
and keep us in that narrow way that leadeth unto life. May we
be like Paul says, let us run the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus.