Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the book of Job, Job chapter
38, and reading from our text, verse 11. And said, hitherto shalt thou
come, but no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stained. Job 38 and verse 11, really flowing
forth from the 8th verse, who shut up the sea with doors when
it break forth as if it had issued out of the womb. When I made the cloud, the garment
thereof, and thick darkness, a swaddling band for it, and
break up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said,
hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy
proud ways be stayed." A very vivid illustration, a very familiar
one, to stand on the seashore, to see the waves of the sea beating
upon the shore, and yet they don't come. right over the shore. There is a bound for it and we
expect as the tide goes in and out it has a predictable rise
and fall day after day. And God says that he has set
that bound so that it doesn't go over the earth as it did in
the days of Noah. But set before us here is a God
a God that restrains. Right the way through this chapter,
God is speaking to Job and challenging him one question after another
as to whether he is able to do the works of creation, either
at the beginning, whether he was there, or whether he's able
to maintain it. The effect of reading such a
chapter should be for us to humble ourselves before the mighty hand
of God, and also to be reminded of what God is able to do. And especially what is before
us this evening is God's restraining hand. It is thus far and no further. There are limits that are set
by God. This very book really begins
with such limits. We have the beginning where Job
is set forth as an upright man and one that fears God. There
was no reason, and God is very clear in this, to Satan and to
us that read the word of God. There's no reason in Job why
the Lord should bring or allow to be brought all the trouble
that came in Job's life. But it arose from Satan's accusation
that Satan felt that the only reason why Job feared God was
because he'd hedged him about. He'd put a restraint, as it were,
so that no evil could touch him. He had blessed all that he had.
and he'd put a hedge round about him. So in one sense, the whole
start of the book of Job is through Satan perceiving God is preserving
one of his people. He has power over all of those
things that could affect Job, that could take away his goods,
take away his health, and Job is saying, you take those things
away that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face. And that
would be true for natural man, true for millions. But where
the grace of God is, and the Lord permitted Joe to be tried
in this, to show to Satan and to show to us the effect of God's
grace and keeping, and one that is not just looking to time,
to riches, to health, the strength to serve God, but serves God
because he has a fear of God and loves God and would serve
him even if everything was taken away. And Job then was put to
this great trial. But we find in the first two
chapters as God then gives Satan permission. Firstly, it is to
touch all that he has, but there is a restraint to be put upon
that. In verse 12 of chapter 1, the
Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power,
only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So God gave him permission. He needed God's permission before
he could do anything. But when God allows Satan to
touch Job's family, his goods, his wealth, his cattle, and all
that he had, his buildings, he still restrained that hand so
that Satan didn't have, as it were, a free hand. He couldn't
just keep going on destroying further than what God had given
him permission to do. So in that first chapter, The
no further is that it was not to touch him. He was not going
to be ill. There was nothing going to be
in his own body. He would see everything around
him, others afflicted and even dying, his children, but not
himself. Then in the second chapter, Satan
has even more accusations, and he says that all that a man has
will he give for his life. And his thought was, well, if
then Job was to be touched, if he was to have affliction and
sickness, then he would then curse God. So again, the Lord
did give him permission And he said, again, the Lord said unto
Satan, verse six, chapter two, behold, he is in thine hand,
but save his life. So again, there is a restraint. Satan is allowed to go so far,
but no further. There is a restraint to him. And so we have this trial, this
great trial, that Job comes into. First his friends sympathise
with him, but then they start to accuse him because the trial
goes on and on. They feel there must be something
that he has done wrong. They are not able to point out
why or give a reason, but they still accuse him and they can't
convince Job So then Elihu, the younger man, he waits till the
older three friends are finished and then he speaks on God's behalf. And then after Elihu, the Lord
himself answers Job and speaks to Job. And it is in this chapter
that we've read that the Lord is speaking to Job. But one of
the great themes that he's right through. Then the book of Job
is God's hand, God's hand in tribulation, in trouble, great
trouble, and how he causeth it to come. He causeth these things
to happen and to come about. In verse 13 of the previous chapter,
chapter 37, Elihu said, he causeth it to come. whether for correction
or for his land or for mercy. But what a comfort that this
is for the Church of God, the people of God, to see not man,
not Satan in control, but God in control. But not only God
in control, but God who appoints things to come. In the world
you shall have tribulation. Our Lord said, in me you shall
have peace, but in the world you shall have tribulation. The
troubles will come, the afflictions will come, it is very certain,
and God is appointing those. They don't come by chance, they
don't come without the Lord's permission, whether it be that
we can trace it to being a natural reason, something of nature,
an earthquake, or wind, or flood, or whatever it be, or an illness,
or whether it be man. It seems to be man is in control,
and he rises up, and he causes wars, and troubles, and conflicts,
or maybe personal attacks upon us. Those things we are told
the Lord permits, allows. He's not the author of evil.
But when they come, He is able and He does restrain them. When we look at an overall view,
we think of what an amazing power and skill that God has to be
able to use even those that hate Him and hate His people to perform
His will And yet what he gets them to do, or permits them to
do, he is able to measure exactly how much and nothing more. He doesn't just let them go and
then they just go without restraint. Very often, and we go back to
the illustration of water, If there is a breach in a dam or
something like that, then as that water goes out, it's well
nigh impossible to restrain it or stop it unless there is that
provision with sluice gates or whatever that is there beforehand. And we are warned as meddling
with trouble that we are to avoid that trouble and contention before
it even begins, because we don't have that power to restrain it,
but God does. And so we have our Lord speaking
of creation. He speaks of all things that
are under the hand of God. It's interesting when Paul, the
Apostle Paul, goes to those on Mars Hill and he speaks to them
of the true and living God. They had an altar to an unknown
God, but Paul would introduce them to the true God and he uses
again of this attribute of God, who has control over all things. And in verse 26 of Acts 17 we
read, And hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell
on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. where they
should live. We know, of course, of the children
of Israel, God gave them Canaan and he appointed by lot, which
had to be determined by God himself, where each tribe should be in
the land of Israel. And so with his people, where
they are to live, where they are to abide, where their dwelling
should be, those things are all appointed by God and Paul uses
this to illustrate the true and the living God. He says that
they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after
him and find him though he be not far from every one of us
for in him we live and move and have our being. He even appeals
to their own poets, as certain also of your own poets have said,
for we are also his offspring. And then he points unto them,
to the true and the living God, and exhorts them that this is
the time that we are to repent and to seek the true God, not
to idols but to the God of salvation. So I want to think of the word
that is before us this evening, particularly applying to the
troubles and tribulation, that which the apostles said to the
disciples, you must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom. And it is a truth in our text
that should be of a great comfort and use to the people of God. Now there are three parts to
our text which are used as the text is broken up. We have, Hitherto shalt thou
come. The Lord appoints. where these tribulations shall
come, and they shall come to a certain place, a certain level. And then secondly, there is the
prohibiting them from going any further, but no further, but
no further abound. said to them. And then lastly,
there is a place where those proud waves be stayed, and here
shall thy proud waves be stayed. As if the emphasis is in a specific
place, that which has been appointed to be done, has been done, And
so here in that place, it is stayed. But firstly, God appointing,
hitherto shalt thou come. Our Lord spoke as he came to
Calvary, that this was their hour. This was that time that
he would suffer and he testified to them that it was to take him
that they had no power at all except it be given them from
above. In the garden when they had the
swords Our Lord restrained their hand and said, thinkest thou
not that I could pray my father? He would presently give me 12
legion of angels. But how then should the scriptures
be fulfilled? Very often when we have subjects
like this, or especially with the hand of man and the hand
of God, Those delivered by the determinate counsel and full
knowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands crucified
and slain. We can see at Calvary so much
of the truths of God that are a comfort and help to us. If in the offering up of the
sacrifice where sin was put away, we see God exerting this power
that there should be a permission for the Romans, for the Jews,
to have their sway. Thus far, the Son of Man goeth
as it was appointed him, but woe be unto that man by whom
he is betrayed. It was an appointed path. But what skill, what wisdom,
what appointments there is in God that should so cause it that
he has, our Lord has three years of ministry. There was times
they took him to the Bravo Hill to cast him down, but he went
through the midst of that. And we read that his time was
not yet. And so because it was not yet,
they couldn't take him and they couldn't bring him before their
rulers. But there was to be a time that
it would be so. And the Lord caused it to come. When the apostles later on were
in tribulation themselves and they were thinking back to Psalm
2, And also to that which the Lord endured in Acts chapter
4, we have them saying this, For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus is verse 27, chapter 4, whom thou hast anointed both
Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now the apostles were also
having persecution, and those rising up against them. And so they add, And now, Lord,
behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants that
with all boldness they may speak thy word. And so the apostles
had mindfulness of what the Lord went through, his sufferings,
his death, the appointing of man yet not taking away the guilt
of men that were used to falsely accuse him and to bring him to
the crucifixion. Our Lord's path was appointed,
the apostles could see their own path was appointed as well. Our Lord's path worked a the
salvation of the people of God. It brought about that which had
been prophesied right from the beginning, the bruising of the
serpent's head, because the seed of the woman should bruise that
serpent's head. Our Lord should come and in death
put an end to death. And what was to be done, what
was to be accomplished, The permission, the ordering of it, was of the
Lord. Hitherto shalt thou come. And there's another aspect in
this as well. Not only is it a permitting,
an ordering of it, but it is an ordering. It is, as it were,
a command. That when the Lord determines
the trouble or tribulation, afflictions, are to come they will come and
no man can restrain it or hold it back at all. Remember the
most solemn account of the end of Ahab when Ahab was to go into
battle and he wanted to hear from prophets whether he would
prosper or not. His own false prophets they said
400 of them All in agreement, go up and prosper. But then Jehoshaphat
wanted to hear from a prophet of the Lord. And Micaiah, after
really reproving the king in a mocking way to agree with his
false prophets, the king knew. He said, how many times should
I adjure thee to only tell me the truth in the name of the
Lord? And yet he, before Ahab, before, had said to Jehoshaphat
that he hated that prophet because he never spake good but only
evil to him. He obviously hurt him many times
and yet did not obey him. Yet there must have been that
fear and that thought that maybe what he would say would come
to pass, like I had said. in effect, that Ahab would be
slain in that battle. But Ahab tried to get around
that. Yes, the prophet may have said
it, but he says to Jehoshaphat, you wear your robes. You appear
to be a king. I'm going to disguise myself. I'm going to be just like an
ordinary soldier. And yet God saw through that.
And God used a man just to get a bow and arrow and just shoot
it into the air. And it found out Ahab through
the joints of his harness, a bow shot at adventure, shot at nothing,
just shot. And the arrow found its mark.
God made sure it did. And all of Ahab's efforts to
get round what God said would happen were of no avail. And we must remember that. especially
when we think of what we are told, that we must die. We must appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that every man shall give an account of the
deeds done in the body, whether good or bad. And whatever we
do will not change what God has
appointed. God has appointed men once to
die, and after that, the judgment. And the only way is through the
gospel, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that we
can escape that wrath to come and in the judgment lift up our
head and not in our own righteousness, but in Christ and faultless before
his throne. Again, it is in the sufferings
and death, the crucifixion of our Lord, that the hope of the
people of God is to be found. Many, and Paul despaired of this
with his own countrymen, they were ignorant of God's righteousness
and going about to establish their own. What they were trying
to do was to get round God's judgment, but in a way God had
not appointed, in a way that would be ineffectual by their
own works and their own deeds. By deeds of righteousness which
we have done, Those deeds and our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags. And God then has appointed one
way of salvation through his beloved Son, and all other ways
lead to ruin and death and hell. Hitherto shalt thou come. With the people of God it is
often proved true that they have been chosen in the furnace of
affliction. Whereas many afflictions and
troubles make them hate God and turn away from Him, for His people
He makes it work for good. There's nothing inherently good
in affliction and in trouble that comes because of sin. But
when God makes it work for good, it does work for good. And many
can testify of how that they've been brought to find the Lord
and being converted through great troubles that have come in their
lives. Even John Newton, that hardened and wicked slave trader,
the Lord used a storm at sea, which you might think, well,
mariner that had been used to the sea. How could ever he be
touched by anything that happened in the sea? And yet, of course,
in the scriptures, we find the fishermen, our Lord's own disciples,
so fearful and afraid of sinking on a lake that they knew very,
very well. And they cried out, Master, carest
thou not that we perish? And so, may we truly remember
that the troubles that come, the Lord is, in this day of grace,
able to make those work for good, and that in them there is a hope
that there shall be, though the flesh dislikes the way, faith
will approve it well, a hope that in this affliction, God
will bring out trouble. I often marvel at that with Elijah
in the days of the famine, again in Ahab's day, and the widow
of Zarephath. She's seen perpetual miracle
of the oil not failing and the meal not failing. And yet those
wonderful miracles, they did not touch her. They didn't seem
to make any effect on her, but then her son died. And Elijah
was the means of bringing that son to life again. And she says,
when the son died, art thou come to me to bring my sin to remembrance? Wherever there is a true conversion,
there is a true conviction of sin, there's a bowing down before
sin, and it was through the death of her son that her sin was brought
to remembrance. But when she was shown mercy
and the son raised up, then she said, now I know the word of
the Lord in thy mouth is truth. She knew that he was a true man
of God. I believe the Lord used that
because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ He refers to that
widow of Zarephath. He says that there were many
widows in Israel in Elijah's day, but he was not sent any
but that widow of Zarephath, and implying that it was salvation,
it was a blessing, sovereign blessing to that dear lady. And so many can trace times of
blessing when there is an appointed. Hitherto shalt thou come. Thou
must come to this point. I want to look secondly at that
but no further. A restraining hand. A restraining
God, a restraining hand. We might feel that there are
things out of control in our lives, whether our own sin, our
vile affections, our thoughts. We may think that there are things
that other men and women are doing, and it is out of control. They're just doing what they
want to do, or there doesn't seem to be a hand upon them at
all. We're certainly warned in the
latter days, there shall be men that are implacable, they're
incontinent, you can't reason with them, they can't be stopped. But under God's hand, they can. And he says, but no further. The illustration here is one
actually seeing these waves coming. actually seeing these troubles,
seeing them advancing, seeing the threat. It's not imagined,
it's not just spoken, it's seen. But then there is but no further
and a restraint. We read when David numbered Israel
wrongly through pride and not dealing with it as courting as
the law demanded that when in a time of peace, Israel was numbered,
that they should pay into the sanctuary for each one numbered.
We don't read that that was done. But there was given to David
the choice of what tribulation should come, what punishment
should come. And he chose not to fall into
the hand of man, but to fall into the hand of God And God
sent those three days of pestilence and the plague. And at the end
of that day, the Lord said, it is enough. And he commanded the
angel to put up his sword. It wasn't just allowing there
to be, you might say, a plague in the land, a pestilence in
the land. And it got out of control. It
wasn't out of control. God could control it. And God
stopped it and said that it was enough. And we need to remember
this in many aspects of our lives, but especially if we have found
in any small measure that Job is in. And remembering our text
and the part where we are in Job, he's right in the midst
of it. But there is the command with
the Lord, no further. And may we remember that, whatever
your trial is, and mine, and tribulation, and trouble, or
affliction, where the Lord puts a limit, then it cannot go past
that. It must stop, it must remain
at that point. and no further. But then lastly,
we have a here shall thy proud ways be stayed. A place where it is stayed is
not just with the Lord, just a whim or just a desire, well,
now is the time to Stop this affliction or this trial or this
dark period in a person's life. No, there is a specific place
here. Here is the appointed time and
place where it shall be restrained because the work is done, the
effect has been done, all is accomplished. When our Lord was
in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood,
praying to His Father three times, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
Thy will be done. That cup had to be endured. He had to go through it. But
that part in the Garden of Gethsemane, He says it is enough that the
hour is at hand, arise, let us go hence. What had been done,
the laying of his people's sins upon him was done, it was accomplished. And now there was a moving to
the next part. The children of Israel with their
wilderness journeys were at Mount Sinai. And they had to remain
there, receiving the law of God for a period of time. But then
the Lord says, you have compassed this mount long enough. And so they had to move on. What
was done was done. It was accomplished. And we are
to remember that as well. The Lord does not crush underfoot
the sons of men. He doesn't delight in their misery,
but what he does is for a purpose. Himmreiter says, his purposes
will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter
taste, but sweet will be the flower. And we are to remember
there is something to be accomplished. There will be a here. There will
be not only a hitherto shalt thou come, but hitherto hast
thou helped us and an Ebenezer set up with our Lord Jesus Christ
and with Lazarus. Sometimes we think the Lord has
got it wrong and that he's left it too late. With Lazarus it
was said, could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind
cause that this man or Lazarus, should not have died. The thought
was, and perfectly reasonable, that now was too late. He could
have healed him while he lived, but now he was dead. How could
he help him now? But he raised him from the dead.
The two on the way to Emmaus were the same regarding our Lord. They said we trusted It should
have been he that should have redeemed Israel. Their hopes
had died when they thought the Lord had left the matter too
long. No doubt, when they heard others
saying, if thou art the Christ, save thyself and us, come down
from the cross, that they thought also, well, surely this is what
he will do. This is how he will triumph over
the grave and over the cross. And this is how that he shall
be seen as the a true God, that they understood not, that actually
he had to go through death and rise again. And the Lord said,
O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have written, ought not Christ to have suffered these things
and to enter into his glory? We sometimes think, surely the
Lord's left it too late. Solemn thought with King Saul. He thought that Samuel had left
it too late to come and offer his offering, and so he forced
himself and offered it. Abraham thought the Lord was
too late in bringing the promised seed, so he took Hagar and they
had Ishmael. How many times man will think,
the Lord said, your time is always ready, but my time is not yet. Because what has been appointed
to be done has not yet been done, is not yet been accomplished.
But maybe remember, God has given the command for the thing to
come. He has given a command that it
shall not go any further than what He has appointed. And it
is He that has appointed a here. Here shall thy proud ways be
stayed. And may it be so. We each have a here. And as a
church and people here at Cranbrook, may we prove that. May this be
a here. Here shall thy proud ways be
stayed. To bless a thing, when the Lord
blesses the house of God, the preaching of the word, and in
the sanctuary, there is the blessing. Well, may the Lord bless this
word to us, may he apply it to us, especially those in tribulation
and trial at this time. And hitherto shalt thou come,
but no further, and here shall thy proud ways be stayed. Amen.