Seeking for the blessing and
help of the Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm
104. Psalm 104 and reading for our
text, verse 28. 28. That Thou givest them they gather,
Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good. And the
specific words I bring before you are the first clause here,
that thou givest them they gather. That is the word that I bring
before you this evening. We read in Psalm 145 the eyes of all wait upon Thee,
and Thou givest them their meat in due season, Thou openest Thine
hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." And we
have, and I'll bring before you, three very powerful illustrations
of the Lord's provision, the context where our text is. We have the picture of the fowls
of the air, the beasts of the earth, we have even the fishes
of the sea, all of those that are enumerated in the earlier
part, or what leads up to the word of our text. And in verse
27 we read, These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them
their meat in due season. And then the words of our text,
That Thou givest them they gather. And we have this powerful picture
in nature of all of the wild beasts and the creation apart
from man, and we find how the Lord provides for them all, gives
them all their meat in their season. And it's very remarkable
with some species, especially the birds, where they get their
mate in one continent, one part of the year. And then that dries
up when the season change. They must then migrate and move
maybe thousands of miles away. And the Lord's given them wisdom
and to know where to go, where He will provide for them in that
new continent or new place. And without man's intervention,
without him doing anything, The Lord is providing for His brute
creation, and we should consider this and look upon it, what the
Lord is doing. We have it in the psalm here,
we have it in that 145th psalm, we have it through the Word of
God, that the Lord provides in that way. Our Lord chose to use
that same illustration in Matthew chapter 6. Behold, he says, the
fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they? So the Lord uses that same illustration
as well. So this is the first powerful
illustration of the provision of God for his brute creation,
part of his creation. Then we have the passage that
we read together in Exodus chapter 16. And here we have the children
of Israel going out into the wilderness where naturally there
is not food, there is not sustenance, there is not drink, there's not
water. And yet the Lord provided for
them in a very miraculous way. The Lord was pleased to give
them that manna. And not just one day, but we
read in verse 35 of that 16th chapter of Exodus, the children
of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land
inhabited, they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders
of the land of Canaan. And we are told there what the
description of that manor was, how it was like a coriander seed,
white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. We are told how the dew came
down, and when the dew lifted up, there was the manor that
had been, as it were, sandwiched between the dew that kept it
from the wilderness, the dust of the wilderness, and then sandwiched
it between, and when the top layer of dew went, there they
were able to have that clean manna. And right next to their
tents, they only had to go right outside their tent, and there
was the manna, there was the food that came so miraculously
from heaven, in this case with no help, no aid from man at all. It was God's instigating of it,
it was God's bringing of it, and their part was that they
had to, like the fowls and like the beasts of the earth, to go
out and to gather it and to bring it to themselves. And we have
this illustration right at the beginning of their wilderness
journey and told this is repeated right the way through. Now, of
course, there are many other teachings, illustrations that
we could use from this portion, but the illustration I want to
bring before you is how God provided, how close it was to their habitations,
and that all they had to do was to go out and gather it. And
also we may add that on the normal days in the week there was just
the portion for that day But then, when it came to the sixth
day, there was a double amount of portion that was for the next
day. So, when we think of the words
of our text, that they are, give us them, they gather, and they
were given more on that sixth day, and they gathered more,
and they went and told Moses, the elders told Moses that they
had gathered more, and they said, well this is the word of the
Lord, this is the provision that is to be for the following day,
for the Sabbath day. So we have this illustration
that illustrates our text here, that they'll give us them they
gather, and that is what the children of Israel did. We read also that there was no
lack, there was always enough, always enough provision for them.
Now we have a third illustration and that is in the book of Ruth. that provision that was for the
poor of the land that did not have any way of sustaining themselves
in this case with Ruth and Naomi they were widows they hadn't
got a bread provider and they should then be able to glean
and so when the harvest was being taken in and as the reapers they
left bits of the the corn that they were reaping
fell from their hand, just a little bit there, a little bit here.
The reapers, they went after them and they gathered those
portions. Well, in Ruth's case, she found
favour with Boaz and Boaz, he gave a command to the reapers,
his reapers, And he said to them that they were to let drop, let
fall, those handfuls of purpose for them, and leave her, let
her, don't chide her, but let her glean those portions. And so when Ruth gleaned those
portions, whether she knew or not of the command, we know in
reading the inspired, infallible Word of God, that that which
she gathered had actually been dropped by the Reapers, but the
Reapers hadn't dropped it of their own accord. They dropped
it at the command of Boaz, who owned that field, and whose it
was authority to give. And so we see this beautiful
chain of provision for Ruth and for the poor of the land, especially
for Ruth, who had that favour. So again, we have the word that
is before us, that they'll give us them they gather, or that
which Boaz gave to Ruth through the command to his reapers, that
she gathered, and it's very evident when she came back to Naomi,
and Naomi looked at what she'd gathered, she said, Where hast
thou gleaned today? Blessed is he that hath taken
knowledge of thee. She knew that what she'd gleaned
was more than usual. It wasn't the usual amount. There was more than what was
usual. She knew that she'd gained favour.
And so, that which Boaz had commanded, she had gathered it, and Naomi
was the living witness of that. So we have these three very powerful
examples of the provision of God in this way, a giving and
a gathering. Now would we be right in looking
then at these provisions which are for our temporal bodies and
for us to live here below and see a spiritual application and
teaching for us in a spiritual way. The Word of God is very
clear that we can, and the very fact that these examples are
in the Word of God and are used by our Lord, strengthen this. Our Lord, when He was tempted
by Satan to turn the stones into bread after he'd fasted 40 days
and 40 nights. He rebuffed him with this word
that he quotes from Deuteronomy, that man shall not live by bread
only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God. So our bread, our food, is not
just for our body, there's spiritual food. And when the Lord had miraculously
fed the 5,000, and then they'd followed Him over the sea, And
he said to them, Ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles,
but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour
not for the bread that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto
eternal life. And that was his message. to
them. And then when we come to the
beautiful sixth chapter of John, then we have our Lord's teaching
on the manna in a very clear way, and He's saying to them
that He is that bread that comes down from heaven. He says, if
I can turn to it, In verse 48 of chapter 6, he says, your fathers did eat
manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which
cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not
die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." And
again, in verse 58, this is that bread which came down from heaven,
not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead he that eateth of
this bread shall live forever and so our lord clearly takes
that teaching of the provision and he applies this in a spiritual
way. We are told in the prophecy of
Jeremiah, Jeremiah 3 and verse 15, that I will give you pastors
after mine own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge
and with understanding. And then the charge that Peter
gives in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 2 to the scattered brethren and
those that minister to them, feed the flock of God. That was
the charge to them, have the oversight of them and feed them. It's one of the great works of
the ministry. that the words should be food. Thy words, said Jeremiah, were
found and I did eat them. They were to the joy and rejoicing
of my soul. The words that I speak unto you,
says our Lord, they are life, they are meat. Those are those
words that man shall live by. Heaven and earth shall pass away
but my words shall not pass away. And so we look at that which
is the greater provision than for our bodies and we look at
that which is for our souls and the blessing for our souls. So our text Psalm 104 and verse 28, the first
part. That thou givest them, they gather. I want to speak to you from three
points. Firstly, that given and the giver. The first part of the text reads,
that thou givest. So our first point, that given
and the giver. The second point, the means to
receiving, gathering. The means to receiving, gathering. And then thirdly, the encouragement
of our text, them and they. Our text says, that thou givest
them, they gather. The them and the they are the
same. for our encouragement. Firstly, the given and the giver. That thou givest them. There is a provision in the Lord Naturally, with ourselves, we
can't give something to someone unless we already have it ourselves. When Abraham was going up the
mountain with Isaac, Isaac asked him, he said, My father, the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said to Isaac, my
son, God will provide himself a lamb. Frey burnt offering. God shall be the giver. He shall
be the provider, but he shall be also the gift. What a great gift, the gift of
gifts. is our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, that which the Old Testament Church, they had promise of,
they longed for, they looked for, they waited for His coming,
for the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. the great gift
to the Church of God, the seed of the woman that should bruise
the serpent's head, the name wherewith he shall be called
the Lord our Righteousness, Emmanuel, God with us. God's provision
that man cannot bring down, but God will bring down. Man, Solomon,
great though he was, wise though he was, Yet he says that the
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house
that I have builded. But will God in very deed dwell
upon the earth? Dear Job, he says, I know that
my Redeemer liveth, that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Yet the
dear saints, they puzzled how this should be. In Job he says,
How can there come that which is clean of a woman? How can there be amongst the
fallen sons of Adam one that is necessarily so pure as to
be the provision that the Church of God so needs? A suitable provision, a suitable
Saviour, One that meets their case as sinners. Now what is set before us in
these portions is the goodness of God. The goodness of God to
His brute creation. The goodness of God to the children
of Israel through the wilderness. They, they were so rebellious. the goodness to dear Ruth, though
she was so poor herself. The Lord is good to all. His
tender mercies are over all His works. He satisfies the desire
of every living thing. And, dear friend, if you have
been given a hunger and thirst after righteousness, if the Lord
has quickened you into spiritual life, and given you a desire
for the bread of life and a desire for the Word of God, he will
satisfy that desire. Now in unregeneracy I had no
desire, no longing for the Word of God, no interest in the preaching
at all. And a natural man doesn't. It may tickle his ear. And certain texts he might find
very interesting on a natural level. The spiritual man, he
desires that provision from the Lord, that which shall strengthen
his soul, feed his soul, strengthen his soul, fill the empty void,
the aching void, make him satisfied with the goodness of the house
of God. That provision that God has laid
up, not just for the body, but for that new creation, that He
has made, and He has formed in the heart of man. That which
is given is the Lord. We have in that beautiful type
of John 6, that it shall be His flesh that He shall give for
the life of the world. You know those two on the way
to Emmaus, they were treated to a feast in that way through
the Old Testament. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and enter into His glory? Beginning at Moses and
all the prophets, He expanded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself. But it was ought not Christ to
have suffered these things. It was His sufferings, it was
His death, it was the types, the shadows, the shed blood,
the sacrifices, it was all pointing to Christ. And their heart burned
within them. as He taught with them by the
way." What a beautiful illustration of a soul receiving the Word
at the lips of a preacher. And there it was, the Prince
of Preachers, and He was speaking of Himself and of that provision. It is God's provision in His
Beloved Son, His Son coming, His Son working out a rave of
righteousness. in His perfect life and obedience,
and His Beloved Son offering Himself for a sacrifice of sweet
savour unto God, even unto death, a ransom for many. That is the
provision. The Church of God is reminded
of that in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. This is what they
are to feed upon, This is to be their meat and drink, not
the literal emblems though they partake of them, but what they
signify and what they set forth for a living soul. It is Christ
that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, that even now
sitteth at the right hand of the throne of God on high. You know, sometimes I'm struck,
and no doubt you will be as well, And sometimes it's more emphasized
in what Bible you actually have. And when I say that, what type
of a Bible binding, that one Bible that we use for our family
reading, when you open it between the Old and the New Testaments,
it so strikes me how thin a portion is the New Testament and how
large is the Old. you know, a great difference, not just
in the number of books, but the length of the books. And the
Lord has given that provision for the ministers of the Gospel,
for the people of God. They're not just to preach from
the New Testament, that they're to preach from the old. And the
old is that provision that the Lord sets His seal on. And I
know, of course, in the time of our Lord and of the apostles,
they did not have the New Testament as we had it. But this rich provision
is what the Lord has given for these last days, these gospel
days, for us to feed upon. a rich provision of the Word. The command to His servants is
to preach the Word. That comes from God. The command
comes from God, but the Word comes from God. If the Lord had
given us one page of the Holy Scriptures and said, preach the
Word, we'd preach from that one page. When we got to the end
of that page and we start at the beginning again, And that
was all we could preach from, because that was all the Word
we had. But now we have all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. All of them, 66 books, 27 in
the New, all of them, all of them are
given to preach from, to set forth a precious Saviour and
to feed upon that thou givest. The Word of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself. May we be clear on what is the
food of the soul. The Apostle says, I determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And yes, we know that we are
to declare the whole counsel of God. But a soul desires to
feed, to feed upon the manna, the true manna, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So then he is that which is given,
and he is the giver. The Lord gave the word. This is the gospel, the good
news of salvation. It comes from God, sent from
God, and sent for living souls. I want to then look secondly
at the means to receiving. Our text says gather, that thou
givest them, they gather. That which the Lord gives is
to be gathered. Of course, if we were to think
how otherwise it could be, suppose someone was to give us something. Suppose with the children, we'd
give them a whole lot of sweets. We could have that bag of sweets
and we could give it to them and just put it in their hand
and give it to them. Or we could say to them, I've given you a
bag of sweets but I've distributed them right around the garden
and you've got to go and gather them and find them. They're still given. They're
still all there. But they've got to be gathered
this time. And that is what is the type
that's set before us here. A means to receiving. We think of the illustrations
that we had in a natural way. The beasts of the earth, the
fowls of the air, is very evident. That is how the Lord does it.
They go out and they gather. How remarkable it was for Dear
Elijah, there at the brook Cherith that he didn't have to because
the raven did the gathering and it brought it to him. But the
means the Lord used is to gather. We think with the children of
Israel as well. He brought it very close to them. They didn't have to go a mile
or two. All they had to do is to step
outside their tents. And there it was, but they still
gathered it, bit by bit, grain upon grain, like the coriander
seed, and then brought it all together. And then when it was
all together, then they could do something with it. They could
beat it. They could bake it. They could
do things with that which they'd got for the good of their bodies. We think of Ruth. You say, wouldn't have been easier
if Boaz were to say, Ruth, you'd be much better off sitting at
home and with Naomi. And I love you very much. Look,
I'm going to get a bucket and I'll go to my heap of beaten
out corn and I'm going to dip my bucket in and give you this
corn. There you are. You don't even
have to gather it. You don't have to beat it out
or anything. There it all is. But he didn't. He still let her glean. He still
let her gather. But what he saw too, it was that
she had something to gather. Extra to gather. Something that
really showed his favour to her. And so he commanded those handfuls
of purpose to be given. So think of this in a spiritual
way. The Lord gave the word, great
was the company of them that published it, or scattered it. Give a portion to seven, and
also to eight, that knowest not what shall prosper in the earth. We are to preach the word, whether
men will hear, or whether they will forbear. They went forth
everywhere, and preaching. Some believed the word spoken,
and some believed not. But the Lord said, My word shall
not return unto me void. It shall accomplish the thing
whereto I sent it. It will be gathered. There will
be those that gather it. It's a beautiful type, isn't
it? but we are to trace it, trace it to the Lord, whether Ruth was able to or not,
but trace it not just to perhaps the reaper that she saw drop
a handful of purpose, but trace it back from him to Boaz. So when we hear the word preached,
when we read the word, When we have someone perhaps write a
letter to us, an email to us, or speak to us on the phone,
and the Lord uses that word, we should look past that person
and to the Lord that gave that word. When the word is preached,
then we trace it to the hand that gave that word. knowing that the way that God
has ordained us to be blessed is by gathering that word. And again, the very illustrations
that we've given you at the very beginning this evening, it is
gathering one piece after another, one grain of wheat or one a stalk
of wheat, another stalk of wheat, or one grain of manna, another
grain, gathering a little here, a little there, and bringing
it together, and when it's together, then Naomi sees what it is. Our Lord spoke to Nicodemus,
the Spirit is like the wind, thou hear'st the sound thereof,
Thou canst not tell from whence it cometh or whither it goeth,
so is every one that is born of the Spirit." And often the
Word comes in that way. Very often when I'm seeking that
the Lord would give me a text or word to preach, sometimes
in the earlier days I used to wrap my brains, I'd go through
the Scriptures and I'd think of this text and that text and
could I preach from that or was that the one or not? But you
know, I found that the way to go is to be crying unto the Lord,
Lord, give me thy word, show me thy word. And as I'm praying
this, and I might be going out on a daily walk, or working around
the house, or in my study, or reading the word of God, suddenly
I realize that there's a word on my spirit, and I thought,
when did you start meditating on that? When did that first
come into your head? What triggered that? And I don't
know. But I do know, because the Lord gives that Word. But
when He gives it to us, then it has also got to be given to
others, that others may gather it. And that's, in a way, very
humbling, isn't it? For the one that is the means,
use, to scatter, in one sense, he's not got a direct hand in
it. If I could say, oh, I know such
and such a person, they need a blessing tonight, they need
this. Look, this word is for you. But very often we mishit. It's not suitable, it doesn't
find its mark, it's no help to them at all. And so the poor
reaper, as it were, or the one that's the means of scattering,
He is as dependent upon that giver to make sure that the one
that gathers finds it and gathers it and receives it as the one
that is doing the gathering. But this is the Lord's ordered
way and it should then make us that are the means of bringing
the Word, humbly dependent upon the Lord, but it should also
concern each one of us that will gather for our own souls, that
we be diligent in the use of means. The children of Israel
fell into the trap that they despised the manna. Why? Because it was a small thing.
And we're told that we're to not despise the day of small
things. We're not to cast away something
because it is small. What if we found in the garden
this tiny little silver-looking stone? We thought, well, it was
a small stone. That's nothing. Might as well
just throw it away. A little while later, we found
a ring, engagement ring, beautiful gold ring. Its clasp was empty. No stone in it. Oh, that's what
that stone was. What have we done with it? We
threw it away. Maybe the very word that you
despised, very word you threw away, very word that you thought,
well, that minister didn't quite take that text right, very word
that you say, well, don't know why he brought that, or why did
I read that today? Why was that on the calendar
today? And you cast that away, but then
the Lord gives the other part to it, and he joins the bits
together, and the jigsaw puzzle comes together, and the parts
are brought together. Or think about it another way,
with the illustration with Ruth. No, she not only gathered, but
afterwards she beat it out. You think about the illustration
with the beast of the field, the clean beast, mind you. They
not only ate it once, but then they chewed the cart, went over
it again. Meditate upon these things. Give
thyself wholly to them, that thou, profiting, may appear unto
all. And so, maybe this evening, view
the preaching, view the means of grace, the Word of God, in
whichever way it comes, as a field where we gather. And we gather
not just because it's a beautiful illustration or something you
might say is quite novel. No, it is God's provision. It is God's way. that He will
communicate the spiritual food and blessing and help to His
dear people. He gives the grace of life. He gives the desire to search. He gives the inclination to go
after His Word, to search the Scriptures. He gives the spirit
of the Bereans that search the Scriptures daily, whether these
things were so, and therefore many of them believed. And He
blesses the Word in that way. May we, in that sense, have clear
views of the means to receiving from God's hand is gathering. Thou givest them, they gather. How many gathering times of you
have in review this evening? How many Provisions from the
Lord have you gathered? How many times that you have
discerned, and not only you, but those who have viewed you
and seen you, realized that you have had a portion. There's many
times I've come over the years from my study, and my dear one
has seen my face, and she's known the Lord has met with me. She's
known the Lord has blessed me. how it changes our complexion,
it changes our sorrow into gladness and joy, it is such a provision,
a blessing from the Lord. Everyone shall receive of thy
words. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. How shall they believe in him
of whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a
preacher? How shall they preach except
they be sent? This is the Lord's way of giving
to His dear people. I want to then look lastly at
the encouragement of our text. the them and the they, that thou
givest them, they gather. Three things. Those that were, that they were
given, that they received. The word was not wasted. The Lord knows the thems, and
He knows the theys. You know, there must have been,
with Ruth, many other gleaners in that field. But I should think, and of course the reapers, they knew
of the command in that specific way, that they were to leave
those handfuls of purpose to her, and not for other gleaners. The Lord has a special favour
to his dear people, and it is not by chance that they receive
what they do receive. And so the encouragement I would
say is this, that if you have received If you've received the
Word and been blessed through that Word, then you may know
of a certainty that you know that you've gathered that, you're
the they, they gather, but you may know that you're also in
the first part, you're the them, that thou givest them, they gather. The them and the they are together,
and it's good, it's an encouragement, that we don't just say, well,
this was the preacher, or this was just my gathering, but this
was my God. The Lord gave this to me. He uses this means. He's used
this means, but it doesn't take away anything. that this comes
from the Lord. To use our little illustration
with the sweets, would the child say, well, because I had to gather
it and you didn't put it straight into my hand, that you didn't
give it to me? We know it did come from that
parent. And that corn did come from Ballas. We also notice the sovereignty
of God in what He gives. With the children of Israel,
it was very specifically double on this sixth day than before. And there certainly are those
times which are, we may say, more refreshing or more great
in provision from the Lord than others. And the Lord is sovereign
in that. And so in that way, we should
not be discouraged, but wait on the Lord. We should wait those
times of refreshing, those times of blessing. A preacher is to
be instant in season and out of season. But so it is also
with a gatherer. If we are poor, if we are dependent,
then we are to look unto God's sovereign hand. He is a sovereign
God. But the last encouragement I
give you is this, that God's provision is never meant to be
stored up. Many of the Lord's people, and
it may be you tonight, really troubled that you feel like you're
a bit of a sieve. The word comes in and it just
goes out the bottom. That you hardly have it for an
hour, you hardly have it for a day and it's gone. You can't
remember that word. You know there are some texts
that have been blessed to me that I think I'll remember all
my life. There's some sermons I preached.
I think I remember that preaching and remember that sermon. Probably
I could put them on one hand, two hands perhaps. But you think of the amount of
sermons I preached in 25 years. Or those of you that have heard
or fed on the Word. 40 years I've been hearing the
words since being called by grace, the amount of sermons I've heard,
how many blessing times can I really remember? But if I hadn't have
been fed, you think naturally, how many meal times can you remember? Can you really remember what
you had for your meal a week ago? to remember the benefit
or the blessing of it. But I no doubt if you went back
to each time as you finished your meal you were satisfied.
You didn't feel hungry anymore. You went in the strength of that
to the next meal. You didn't expect, you know that
God didn't mean that you were to live upon one meal for a week. Some poor people do have to try
and do that. But we have these times, and
we are reminded this, we are not meant to keep it in store. The children of Israel, in the
portion we read, it was to be a testing to them, as much as
a provision, that they did not hoard it up. They expected the
Lord to provide day after day, new, fresh, from heaven. And
that's how it must be with us. And yes, it was given extra on
the sixth day to tide over for when they were to rest and not
gather. The Lord sometimes gives those
provisions that last, and we go like Elijah in the strength
of that meat, 40 days and 40 nights. But the main message,
thinking of the fowls of the air, thinking of the manna, thinking
of Ruth as a gleaner, It is gleaned for each meal. It is gleaned
for each time. And may that be an encouragement
to you. Don't cast away those blessings,
those helps, those feeding times, because it hasn't remained with
you. Because the Lord will provide
again. We are not to be forgetful here,
as the Word is to profit us, we are to put it into practice
in our lives. But that which we feed upon in
our souls, we need that fresh provision. And tonight, what
an encouragement we have to know that the Lord will provide, and
He will give us that fresh manna. He will supply. We have more
value to the Lord than many sparrows and the fowls of the air. His
dear people who He's created and given an appetite, He will,
He does, supply for. May the Lord add His blessing,
that thou givest them, they gather. Amen.