Seeking the Lord's help for a
little while this evening and your very prayerful attention,
turn with me to the psalm we read, Psalm 31, and reading verse
15. Psalm 31, verse 15. My times are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of mine
enemies, and from them that persecute me. My times are in thy hand. deliver me from the hand of mine
enemies, and from them that persecute me. Dear David, he's in the midst
of trouble. He's in the midst of great worry
and anxious fears. He's in the midst of lying vanities. He's in the midst of a net. He's in the midst of a reproach. He's in the midst of being slandered. He's in the desperate, lonely
state of being forgotten as a dead man out of mind. He says in verse 12, I am like
a broken vessel. And he comes with a confession. He comes with confession in the
ninth verse, have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. Mine eye is consumed with grief,
yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing. My strength faileth. because
of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. And friends, it is when we are
favoured to be brought to confession when we are brought with a humble,
contrite heart, to acknowledge before a thrice holy God our
sins, our wretchedness, our vileness, as we sought to speak of with
Job this morning, and he came to that as we came to the end
of the sermon, and the Lord had spoken to him about all of those
remarkable things, He the Creator, the Sustainer of all things. And it brought Job to this, in
chapter 40, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. And then he was brought to this
in the closing chapter, in verse 5, I have heard of thee by the
hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor
myself. Oh, that's it, isn't it? A glimpse
of Christ. Oh, some sweet token from a precious
Christ, favoured with fellowship with Christ, favoured with answers,
favoured with His appearing. We're not lifted up with pride,
if it's genuine, but we're humble in the dust of self-abasement. Why me? Why me? Why such a wretch as I, who would
forever lie in hell, were not salvation free? And so the Lord blesses him,
doesn't he? He brings him to that prayer. He prays for his friends. And having prayed for his friends,
We then read the Lord's merciful appearing in verse 12. So the Lord blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning. For he had fourteen thousand
sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen,
and a thousand she-asses. He had also seven sons, and three
daughters, and friends that we see in Job, a type of Christ. Oh, a fellowship with Him in
His sufferings. And Job suffered. And as his
brethren, as his three so-called friends were brought to that
place to acknowledge, to acknowledge their sin against Him, they were
expecting to be commended of God and for Job to be condemned. But no, they were to be condemned
and Job commended. And what is it? That they must
bring sacrifice. They must bring sacrifice. And
so we see there the sacrifice is made by these brethren. We see in Christ His atoning
sacrifice. Not all the blood of beasts on
Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience ease or
take away the stone, but Christ, His precious blood. And so this
pointed, this pointed to Christ, to his vicarious sufferings and
death. And so peace was made, peace
was made between Job and his friends, as peace is made between
an offended thrice holy God and poor wretched sinners, by redeeming
love and blood, by the death of His dear Son, His own dear
Son, the Lamb of God, which John declared, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. and so the dear
man in our psalm dear david in our 31st psalm he comes with
a humble contrite heart have mercy i am in trouble i am consumed
with grief i am forgotten as a dead man I am a broken vessel
and that's a desperately hard, hard place to come to. But as the psalmist in that 119th
psalm that he speaks of that of before he was afflicted, he
went astray. He says in that 67th verse, before
I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. There's a purpose in all of these
trials, isn't there? In all of these grievous afflictions. These things which seem as though
they'll be the death of us, will never come up from them again. But they're amongst those all
things. All things working together for
good. To them that love God. To them
who are the called. according to his purposes. He says in verse 71, it is good
for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. And in verse 75, I know, O LORD,
that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness
hast afflicted me. He's a covenant-keeping God. It's not in anger, but it's in
His love. It's in His love that He's pleased. He's pleased that the time comes,
and those times do come, when His people are called to walk
through these deep, deep, dark waters. He says in verse 107,
I am afflicted very much. Wiccan me, O Lord, according
unto thy words. And so, dear friends, to be favoured,
to be favoured in all of this, to be favoured to be crucified
with Christ. to be brought into sweet and
deeper fellowship with a precious Jesus. Paul in writing to the
church at Galatia, he says in Galatians chapter 2 and verse
20, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me. Oh, what a favoured place, what
a sweet place, a precious place to come to know my Jesus crucified
by far excels all things beside. and so the dear psalmist in back
to our psalm 31 and he says after our text he says make thy face
to shine upon thy servant save me for thy mercy's sake save
me for thy mercy's sake Oh, he's been in this desperate, desperate,
desperate place, forgotten as a dead man. Oh dear friends you
know these trials, you know what it is to be brought into the
crucible, you know a little of what it is to be brought into
that fiery furnace that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were brought
into. And that furnace was heated seven
times hotter than it was wont to be heated. But who was there
in the midst? Who was there in the midst? None other than Jesus. Than Jesus. A suffering Saviour. He who knows it all, nothing
that you and I are called to walk in is strange to him. He's touched as our high priest,
he's touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He that toucheth one of mine
toucheth the apple of mine eye. And so, dear friends, its faith
is tested, isn't it? Its faith is tested. Oh, we don't come, do we, and
testify of what the Lord has done for our souls and speak
of His redeeming love and blood how that he pulled us out of
the net of Satan's net, brought us from under the condemnation
of the law, and favoured us with living faith in a precious Jesus,
and to view him, our sins imputed to him, and to see him suffering
under the almighty hand of God as an atonement is made and justice
is done and he finishes the work that he was sent to do and he's
laid in the tomb and he rises again on the third day he was
delivered for our offenses and rose again for our justification. And then 40 days later, He ascended
into heaven, gone to prepare a place for us. And in the meantime,
we live happily ever after. Friends, it is now a trial of
faith, isn't it? Faith must be tried. Faith will be tried. And as with the trying of any
precious metal, it goes to serve to make it stronger. And as He's
pleased to bring you and I into trials of various sorts, it is
that we might be blessed with the closer fellowship with Christ
and with His people, and to be favoured to walk with an even
closer walk with God. And so it's of His mercy that
He's pleased to lead us in to these things and to understand
that there are appointed times, that these times are in the hand
of God. My times are in Thy hand, God. God, a thrice holy God, is in
control. They're not by chance. They're
not by chance. Oh, it's not fate. It's not even
the devil. Oh, the devil. Yes, he's used,
isn't he? But he's not in control. As we
noticed this morning in Job, the Lord, he gave him consent. He gave him consent. But it was
this far, thus far and no further shalt thou go. You touch not
his life. And that's how he is with each
one of his dear people. Satan is held. Satan is held
and he can go no further than the Lord will allow. And these are deep, troubling
things for a child of God. And it's when we're in the crucible,
isn't it? When we're in the furnace, when
we're in the deep waters, when we're in the thick of it. That,
oh, that the enemy would have it, that we would believe that
we shall sink at last. He would have our faith completely
obliterated. Oh, he would have it that, as Jesus said, that he'll never
quench the smoking flax. Nor will he break the brewserie. Satan will do all he can. And sometimes you feel just like
David did as he came to that. I am a broken vessel. Completely broken. completely
broken but it's then isn't it it's then when the lord is pleased
he's pleased to appear oh he's a sovereign isn't he he is a
sovereign oh as job was to say wasn't it in all the midst of
his affliction He's got his three friends that are no more friends
than the sea wants water. And yet he can sign it all covered
with these sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. I know, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. And when he has tried me, when
he has tried me, it's not if he tries me, it's going to be
when. It's going to be a finish to
this and it's going to be glorious. When he has tried me, I shall
come forth as gold. The psalmist in the 18th psalm,
again a psalm of David, and he praised God for his mighty deliverances
and he said in the 30th verse, as for God, his way is perfect. His way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all those
that trust in Him. Oh and so he said didn't he in
our 14th verse of Psalm 31 as he's as he's as he's is it breaks
your heart doesn't it when he speaks of being a broken vessel
of a gotten and then in verse 13 for I have heard the slander
of many fear was on every side while they took counsel together
against me they devised to take away my life oh he's walking
in the footsteps of jesus isn't he and he says but but i trusted
in thee oh lord i said thou art my god My times are in Thy hands. It's leading him, dear friends,
it's leading him to ultimately come to that Come to that exhortation. Oh, come and hear, all ye the
people of God, all ye that are tried, as I have been tried,
and as every one of God's people are brought in to these deep
waters, into the crucible. Oh, he says in verse 24, be of
good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart. all ye that hope
in the Lord. He says in Psalm 27 in the 11th
verse, teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because
of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. Just exactly as it was with Jesus,
wasn't it? Oh, these false witnesses, they
look for false witnesses, they couldn't find any. Then there
are those, they come forward and say, yes, he said at the
temple, and he would destroy it in three days, raise it again. And that's the blindness, isn't
it, of the world, the blindness of those outside of Christ. little knowing that he spoke
of the temple of his own body, that he would finish that work
that he was given to do, that he would make an atonement for
sin, that he would, he would give his life, he would give
his life as he finished that work, and he rose again on that
third day. Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. That's it. He exhorts. He exhorts His fellow
brethren and sisters. Oh, His fellow soldiers. Soldiers, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Jeremiah, as he opened his prophecy,
and he says in the fifth verse, as we consider, my times are
in thy hand before I form thee in the belly. I knew they friends
he's known you he's known me if you're in the covenant of
grace he's known us way back in eternity when that covenant
was agreed between God the Father God the Son and God the Holy
Ghost they shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewels. And that time comes, that time
comes, as Jeremiah could declare, Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb,
I sanctified thee. and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations." Friends, we had no control, did we? None
of us had any control over our birth naturally, and none of
us have any control over the new birth, over us being born
again. ye must be born again but we
had no control over when that that was known to God and is
known to God isn't it in his own good time and way he made
it manifest as he brought us out of nature's darkness into
his most marvelous lights But we live in that, don't we, as
the Him Sovereign Ruler of the Skies says, plagues and deaths
around me fly, till he bids I cannot die. And he goes on to say, not
a single shaft can hit till the god of love sees fit friends
it's when the rubber when the rubber grips the road isn't it
when the rubber grips the road oh when we're brought into these
deep things into these deep things but to understand that not one
of these, not a single shaft, can hit till the God of Love
sees fit. Till the God of Love sees fit. And so the psalmist in that Psalm 16,
and he says in verse 6, the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant
places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. you know friends we could have
been born anywhere couldn't we we could have been born in afghanistan
oh in that militant islamic state we could be under such oppression
but in his mercy in his goodness that we've been born in this
land And though now a secular society, yet still favoured,
favoured to meet and to hear the Word of the Lord God, favoured
to have Bibles, however many we want, and although there are
those that seek to marginalise us, we're still blessed with
many, many privileges. And so the lines are fallen unto
me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a good inheritance. Well, that time came, didn't
it, when it was that he did quicken, he did quicken you, didn't he?
And are there those here this evening that long to know these
things? to know that Jesus is mine and
I am his, to know that I am amongst the people of God. And so, friends,
you are all to be favoured to plead this, that Paul wrote to
the church at Ephesus in chapter 2 and you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins what a time that was and my times
are in thy hand what a time when he revealed to us the secret
love of God. And steer, seeker, as you seek. O press on, plead on. Take it,
Lord, quicken me. May I know of this quickening. Quicken me, I'm dead in trespasses
and in sins, I've nothing to plead, I've no good works to
plead, I've nothing, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to
thy cross I cling. Oh, that time will come. The
time of love will come when you will clearly see and say, not
only that he shed his blood, but I'll say that he shed it
for me. Press on, knock on, seek on,
seek on. It was with Lydia, wasn't it?
Oh, how the Lord, wasn't it? He opened her heart, didn't He?
He opened her heart. With some of the people of God,
it's a very, very gentle work of grace. As it was with dear
Lydia, who we read in chapter 16 of Acts verse 14, and a certain
woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira,
which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened,
that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And
when she was baptised, and her household, she besought us, saying,
If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house
and abide there and she constrained us oh the wonder working hand
of God the soul as he was then persecuting the church consenting
to the stoning of Stephen and that remarkable conversions he
meets Jesus on the road on the road to persecute And he struck blind. He's in
that state for three days. An extreme case. Blessed be God,
he's used for this gentle conversion. You see, the Lord is a sovereign. And he opened, he opened the
heart of dear Lydia. and so it's God's eternal decree
it's his irresistible grace it's an effectual calling that time
comes friend when he effectually calls he effectually calls Oh, that He raises a poor sinner. He raises a poor sinner from
the dead. From the deadness of their trespasses
and sins. From the deadness of their condemnation
under the holy law of God. He softens. He softens hard hearts. He opens blind eyes. And he unstopped, didn't he?
Oh, we can testify, can we not, of these things of that time
when he unstopped our deaf ears. And as our brother Tom sometimes
prays that we may be blessed with gospel ears. Oh, he unstopped
our ears, didn't he, to the joyful news of the glorious gospel of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We were favour, weren't we, in
that time that we were called, as that glorious chapter of being
delivered from condemnation in Romans chapter 8. And whom he
justified, them he also glorified. Well, dear friends, as we go
on in the path, when we've been blessed with that, we're taking
up our cross daily and following Him, and we know much of what
the psalmist is speaking of in this psalm. Why, He was a child
of God, wasn't He? and uh he speaks of being forgotten
and forgotten as a dead man out of mind i'm like a broken vessel
that uh oh he's oh you know what it is sometimes dear friends
when when you even you're naturally speaking your morale Your morale
is dented. It takes such a knock that you've
got no, you've not even got any self-esteem at all. It's all
gone. The slander of many that there
have been, oh it's all come at you and you're now a broken man,
a broken woman, a broken boy, a broken girl. But he knows,
he knows, as Job said, he knoweth the way that I take. And when
he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. The dear man,
he's favoured in all of this, in all of this as he's broken. He's favoured, he encourages
himself in the Lord. When these deep things He's in
the midst of it all, He's favoured to continue to trust. But I trusted
in Thee, O Lord, I said, Thou art my God. my times are in thy
hand deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them
that persecute me make thy face to shine upon thy servant save
me for thy mercy's sake now there's this good end in view isn't there
there's a good end in view oh he's moving in a mysterious way
isn't he god does move in mysterious ways his wonders to perform he
plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm you
know when When Michael was 11, and Alan, and Matthew, they were
8 and 6. Well, the chairman of the company
had been taken over, a very hostile takeover, and there had been
many redundancies, and it had been my lot to have to do that,
knowing that my turn was probably going to come. and I met the
chairman as he came down on his fortnightly visits in the foyer
and he just said I'll see you later I'll see you later and
the stomach went over and I went out to the car and I drove down
the road and I made this my plea show me show me what i have to
do every hour my strength renew let me live a life of faith let
me die thy people's death and indeed before the end of that
day that 18 years of service was brought to a close and the
future looked very bleak. But there was an invitation I
had to go up north for an interview which I went to and I came back
having been offered the position and my dear wife said to me we've
had a I had a visit had a visit yesterday evening He's offering
you a job. He's offering you a job. Oh,
friends, it was such, oh, it was such a, how's the word I
can put? Well, in my pride, it was beneath
me. Well, well beneath me. And there was this tussle. I
want to go to the North. I want to go to the North. I
want a name for myself. and my dear wife said not before
you've tried this one not before you've tried this one and friends
and so we see the good hand of God don't we that he is a humble
way he is a humble well remember meeting someone along the road
whom I worked with and he expressed amazement that I should be doing
such a job But you know, dear friends, to have Christ in the
vessel, to have Christ in the vessel, we smile at the storm. We begin to understand, don't
we, as we're given sweet submission to his heavenly mind and will,
that my times, my times are in thy hand. and he does in his
own good time and way he delivers us even from our enemies and
our greatest enemy we have to prove don't we is our wretched
self but he blesses us doesn't he delivers us he delivers us
deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute
me, to be brought to that place where dear Eli was brought. Oh, as he knows his sin, doesn't
he? he knows that he's allowed his his sons to continue in office
in the church of God and a little lad Samuel is sent to tell him
of these oh these desperately desperately solemn tidings that
are going to come and he will be bereaved of them and in fact
the dear man when he heard of it didn't he's 90 years old such
a frail man and he falls backwards and he dies but oh dear friends
with him i believe it was he was taken out of all his troubles
as he rested, rested in Christ in response to what the little
lad Samuel said, it is the Lord, it is the Lord, let him do what
seemeth him good. That lovely hymn 261, it is the
Lord, enthroned in light, whose claims are all divine, who has an undisputed right to
govern me and mine. well and so as uh as he says
oh how great is thy goodness oh how great is thy goodness
and dear friends as uh as uh we think of the and we must come
to a close oh but just to set forth christ you know dear friends
as we consider the cost of redeeming love and blood the cost of putting
away our sins oh and and and Peter as he preached that sermon
at Pentecost. And he says in the 23rd verse
of Acts chapter 2, or the 22nd verse, ye men of Israel hear
these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man, a prude of God, among
you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him in
the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know Him, being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye its
personal friends ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified
and slain. but blessed be God, whom God
hath raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be holden of it. And so, dear
friends, consider him Consider him that endured such contradiction
of sinners against himself. lest ye be wearied and faint
in your mind. And understand, dear friends,
that the chastening hand of God is not in anger, but his dear
covenant love. And as he goes on to say in that
11th verse, now no chastening, for the present seemeth to be
joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward that
time is coming that time afterward my times are in thy hand afterward
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby Wherefore lift up the
hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. Well, friends, we wouldn't dare,
would we? Would we dare, in the light of
these things, would we dare say He cannot and will not bring
blessings out of these trials? Out of this heat of the furnace? Out of these deep waters? Out
of these tribulations? Out of being there in that net
which they've privily laid for me? Out of all the slander? No. Not only is He a covenant-keeping
God, He's a redeeming God. And as He made that way, that
way of forgiveness of sins, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son,
cleanseth from all sin. So, blessed be God, there is
a fountain filled with blood. drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
where sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty
stains. Friends, having done that, the
greatest, the greatest mountain that you've ever had in your
life is that mountain of sin and the blood of Jesus Christ,
His Son, rose high, rose high, way above that mountain, brought
that mountain down to a plain as they were washed away in the
blood of the Lamb. And so it's nothing now to Him
to redeem that which He's brought you in and which you may well
be passing in, passing through and in the midst of it tonight. and friends if we're not in it
tonight if we live for very much longer it won't be long before
we're brought into it and we'll prove again that he's a redeeming
God. Amen. May the Lord help us as we close
by singing hymn number 160 from Gadsby's. There is a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners
plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Hymn
number 160 to the tune 101. Is a fountain filled with blood,
drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that
flood. The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day Where have I, that foul and stingy,
washed all my sins away? Did thy England, thy precious
land, ? Till all the ransomed church
of God ? ? Be safe to sin no more. ? Thy soul that streamed, Thy flowing
words sublime, With gaming love, as in my theme, ? This list'ring, stammering tongue
? ? I silent in the grave ? ? Then in the noblest, sweetest song
? ? I'll sing thy power ? The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, the fellowship and the sweet communion
of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with us all, now and for evermore. Amen.