May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word.
Let's turn to the book of Psalms and Psalm 40 and we'll read verses
12 and 13. So the book of Psalms, Psalm
40 and reading verses 12 and 13. For innumerable evils have
compassed me about, Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that
I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs
of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord,
to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me. We should be very thankful that
the Lord in his great goodness and mercy has left on record
the situation relative to various children of God as we read in
the whole Bible and especially perhaps in the Psalms where we
read again and again those spiritual experiences which the saints
of God have passed through Very often it is the experience of
David, who we know was a man of God after God's own heart. And this psalm is really a very
wonderful psalm because it doesn't only speak about David's position,
it also in prophecy speaks about the sufferings and what the Lord
Jesus Christ had to pass through. And it's good just to think upon
such a great truth, because there are many occasions in the Word
of God that direct us to the great and glorious work of the
Saviour. Well, David, in this psalm, he
commenced by telling us about his condition. And again, it's
good to realise what he passed through. He said, I waited patiently
for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry.' Now
we might just pause there and think, well, what's he referring
to? Well, clearly he was referring
to that which we read about in the twelfth verse where he tells
us, Innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have
taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up. They are
more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. We see there that's his experience
and there he is explaining to us how he was but he tells us
here he waited patiently for the Lord. to come and to deliver
him. And it's good for us today because
clearly the Word of God is written for our instruction and for our
encouragement and we shouldn't therefore be surprised if sometimes
we find ourselves walking in a similar path and wonder perhaps
how the end will come, how deliverance will come. Well, we're instructed
here by the Word of God to wait patiently. for the Lord. We are
to inquire of the Lord and we are to continue to pray unto
the Lord. But we are to be patient because
the Word of God tells us your time is always but my time is
not yet. God has a time, a set time to
visit his church, a set time to visit his church individually
and collectively. And we should therefore pray
that we might have patience to wait for the Lord's appearing,
because David testifies here that he waited, he had waited,
I waited, and he inclined unto me. God didn't shut his ear to
David, no, but he had to wait patiently. And we're often very
impatient. We want God to work now. We don't
want to wait, but there is a time. God has a set time. to favour
individuals, a set time to favour Zion. And therefore, we should
recognise the example we have here, that we're told, He inclined
unto me and heard my cry. And there was a wonderful deliverance. And it's good to realise that
we have a God today who is the same. He doesn't change. He's
the same God that came and was with David. And what did David
say? He, no one else, no one else can come. No one else knows
where we are. No one else knows the battle
we have in our heart. God knows. And therefore, David
tells us, he, almighty God, brought me also out of a horrible pit,
out of the M�ori clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established
my goings." What a change there was in David's life. There he was in a horrible pit
and a marred clay but he waited patiently and God delivered him
and God established him. God set him upon a rock and surely
that was none less than that rock Christ Jesus and the change
produced a marked change in him, in David. He tells us then, and
he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. That's a lovely change, isn't
it? And that's wonderful, isn't it?
When God hears our cry and puts then a new song in our heart,
a song of deliverance, a song to acknowledge, God's goodness
and mercy toward us. A new song, and what is that
song? Even praise unto our God. What a mercy then, when we have
cause to praise God, when God hears our prayers. There we are,
sunk very low in this pit, just like David, but God heard his
prayer. and my friends what a mercy it
is when God hears our prayer and answers our prayer in his
time and gives us then this new song which is praise to our God
praise to our God and the effect of that was it would be for God's
glory because what would happen many shall see it and fear and
shall trust in the Lord.' A gracious effect. Isn't it wonderful to
see how God's work appears, how God's work gloriously appears
in such a way that he uses unworthy sinners who are brought into
a situation that they're able to declare what God has done
for them, how he's delivered them, and how he's established
them, and how he's helped them, and the reason that that praise
may be seen by many. Many shall see it and fear and
shall trust in the Lord. Well, what a blessing in our
lives today. if we observe this in one and
another because what does it bring? it brings honour and glory
to our God who's looked upon us in our lowest state God knows
where we are he knows where we've got to yes he knows the precise
position in our spiritual life sometimes we might think well
he's forgotten us he's passed us by No, God's dealing with
us in love to our soul. God's revealing to us that he's
in control, that you and I cannot deliver ourselves. We're totally
dependent upon Almighty God and the reason so that we then do
praise God and thank him for his wonderful favour and his
wonderful goodness. And so David goes on, blessed
is that man that maketh the Lord his trust and respecteth not
the proud nor such as turn aside to lies. Well, we won't go through
the whole psalm. It's a lovely psalm. We could
easily do so, but just let me come on. Again briefly to that
part which speaks about the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we read this. Sacrifice and
offering, thou didst not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened. Burns offering and sin offering
hast thou not required. Then said I. And this is the
Saviour speaking. Then said I, Lo, I come. the great and glorious Redeemer,
then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written
of me." Well, the Word of God, how clearly it speaks of the
work of the Saviour. And how good it is to read and
observe the work of the Saviour. And what are we told about the
Saviour? What does He say? I delight to
do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law is within my heart. It's worth noting, isn't it?
Here we have the glorious Saviour delighting to do the will of
his Father and to tell us that the Father's law is within his
heart. That's what he rejoiced in. And then he goes on. I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation. Lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness
within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from the great congregation. Well, my friends,
what a blessing if you and I are numbered amongst that great congregation
to whom the Lord, in his amazing love and mercy, has revealed
himself unto us. And as he says, I have not hid
thy righteousness, the Saviour speaking to his Father. Within
my heart I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. What a mercy that is, if God
has declared that to us, what he's done, what he's doing. And
I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great
congregation. And then he says, withhold not
Thou Thy tender mercies from me, O Lord.' This was his prayer,
this was his desire to his father. We have many prayers really in
the Word of God, and from the Saviour to his father, and here
we have this one, O Lord, let Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth
continually preserve me. He actually needed that help
because remember he had his manhood, we know he was sinless, but nonetheless
he was tempted in all points like as we are not without and
the desire therefore was that he would be continually preserved
continually preserved and then as we come on to the verses we
read for a text today to realize this is what the Savior endured
on our behalf just ponder it for innumerable evils encompassed
me about. Oh my friends, the Saviour had
to endure this. My iniquities, not His iniquities,
the iniquities which are laid upon Him. My iniquities have
taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up. They are
more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. So when perhaps that the Lord
leads us into a situation like this and we may realise and feel
very sorry for ourselves but it's good when the Holy Spirit
directs us to see that in reality what this means is God in his
love toward us has blessed us and granted us some measure of
fellowship with the sufferings of the Saviour. The Saviour,
you see, suffered as he carried our sins. Our sins, our evil
sins, our wicked sins, our terrible sins. You think of the burden
It was to the Saviour. And yet how willing was Jesus
to do this so that you and I might be eternally freed. We have to
surely say what a wonderful and glorious Saviour we have. In
the Corinthians we read this great truth. It's in the second
epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. The last verse in the fifth chapter,
we read this, that's verse 21 in chapter five of the second
Corinthians. For he hath, the Father, made
him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us, who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. There's tremendous
truth there, isn't there? It's humbling truth to think
that this is speaking of our sin and the great and glorious
Saviour, for He hath made Him to be sin for us. He stood in our place with all
our sin, and He paid the price to take away our sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. That's a very
glorious truth, isn't it? What a blessing it is if the Holy Spirit comes and
brings us into that time of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. To
realise what he endured on our behalf in carrying our sins. What a burden, what a burden.
Ponder what that means. Look back in our lives. to see
how many sins we've committed. Well, they're innumerable, aren't
they? And here we have this illustration. They are more than the hairs
of mine head. All of us have sinned so grossly. Our sins are more than the hairs
of our head. and yet the Saviour was willing
to endure the punishment instead of us, to take away our sins. Well, what a mercy it is that
we have such a great and glorious and willing Saviour. As we already
said, He was willing, willing, and He paid the price, an enormous
price, what suffering He endured and there was no complaint, was
there? No complaint. What a mercy, therefore, if the
Lord has shown us that the Saviour died, paid the price to take
away our sins, and that our hope, our eternal hope, is comprised
in that great and glorious finished work of the Saviour on the cross
at Calvary. He knew what it was before him
in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed earnestly to his Father,
earnestly, so earnestly that it was as though great drops
of blood fell from him. His prayer was so intense because
of that which he had to suffer. If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thine be done. A complete submission to the
will of his father. And it was the will of the father
that his son should suffer so greatly so that you and I might
have some small understanding of how great is our salvation. That's why the Apostle Peter
was able to declare so gloriously in that first chapter of the
epistle of his when he said, we're not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold. from our vain conversation, received
by tradition from our elders, but with the precious blood of
Christ. Well, it would be a worthwhile
experience if you and I are blessed with this communion, which it
is, with the Lord Jesus Christ, to enter in in some small measure
to his sufferings, to realize how the Lord Jesus was left there
on that cross. Yes, my God, my God, why has
thou forsaken me? Sometimes we may feel forsaken,
but remember, the Saviour was forsaken when he bore the punishment
due to us. Instead, when he carried our
sins, he asked the Lord, forsook him for those three hours, my
God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And yet, you see, he didn't
complain. He bore the punishment instead. So let us not be surprised, therefore,
if sometimes we might wonder why we find ourselves in a position
which seems indeed so far off. And we find that our iniquities
And our sins bear heavy upon us and they weigh us down. And as here we have the description
of the Saviour, therefore my heart faileth me. And so sometimes
it feels like that with ourselves. We feel our heart fails us. But
the Lord knows exactly where we are. and he will not loan
us more than we are able to bear but he will loan us that which
brings us into that situation of communion and union with himself
and you will then come and bless God bless God for his love toward
you to realise the Lord hasn't left you. He hasn't forsaken
you. He's teaching and instructing
you and showing to you and to me what a great debt we owe and
how willing was Jesus to die that we fellow sinners might
live. Yes, oh my friends, what a great
and glorious saviour we have. Well, I wonder if you and I ponder
such a word as this relative to ourselves and realize the
truth of innumerable evils, so many that we can't really understand
evils, evils in our heart, evil thoughts, evil words perhaps. For innumerable evils have compassed
me about. and the Saviour took them to
Himself. He took them to Himself. My iniquities have taken hold
upon me, so I am not able to look up. Well, we know the Word
of God encourages us to look up, look unto Me and be saved. It tells us in Isaiah that sometimes
we bow down, Here we have the pathway of the
Saviour. Almost impossible for our little
minds to recognise that the Lord came so low, so that I am not able to look
up, to think the Saviour bore the punishment instead. You will then rejoice, the Lord
has brought you into that place of communion. Because what does
it do? What does it do? It makes Christ
precious in our understanding of what he's carried out for
us. The price that he's paid for us. You know, we can read
these things and they can be very superficial. But the Lord in his love brings
us into an experience where they become real. And then we truly can rejoice in God's
love and God's mercy toward us. You see, the previous verse read,
withhold not thou thine tender mercies from me, O Lord, Let
thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. We don't always understand the
Lord's loving kindness. We often have a biased view of
it. And it's a great mercy when God
brings us into such a situation. where we can indeed rejoice in
our favoured position, the privilege which it is. And it is an enormous
favour to be blessed with that union with Christ. That's why
the Apostle Paul in that third chapter of the Philippians honed
in so very strongly desiring that he might know the fellowship
of the sufferings of Christ. He knew the value. He knew the
importance. And therefore he had a good desire
and a right desire. We can sometimes just read words
like that and pass over it and think it hasn't got any relevance
to us. Well, to the whole church of
God, it has got a relevance. And so God comes and deals with
us, remember, in love to our souls and when you and I are
brought to our understanding that the Lord is bringing us
into this situation for our spiritual and our eternal good it puts
things in a right perspective and we find ourselves in union
with the Lamb from condemnation free Because the Lamb of God has taken
away the sin of the world, the sin of all his church. Yes, we've
been freed from it, that condemnation. As the Apostle says in that 8th
chapter of Romans, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who
are in Christ Jesus. It's very humbling in a very
glorious position to recognize that Lord allows us to taste
and handle a little of what Christ endured for us, to bring the
Savior in our estimation into that precious understanding of
the cost of our salvation. Well, what a mercy this morning,
if you and I understand, by the grace of God, the favour of God,
to bring us into fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Often,
you know, we can pray, perhaps, for fellowship, we don't understand
what it means. and then perhaps when it comes
we perhaps wish we hadn't prayed for it but nonetheless it's a
blessing when God shows us the value of it because it brings
with it eternal values eternal situations which exceed all the
poor things of this life all the poor things of this life
will vanish away but the blessings, the eternal blessings of union
with Christ will never fade. Eternal blessings. And so, David
goes on, having made this expression, he obviously knew it himself,
he'd passed this way, and he was able, under the blessed influence
and the Spirit of God, to write such words. He tells us then,
be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. Oh Lord, make haste to help
me. Yes, it was a cry, wasn't it? A cry from his heart. Oh Lord,
to deliver me. Again, you see, real religion
comes down to a personal application of the work of the Spirit in
our hearts. And we have to look out, we look
nowhere else apart from looking at ourselves. And so he says,
be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help
me. His hope was in the Lord. He
had no help where else. No help outside of the Lord. And again, that's good to be
Christ-centred. Christ-centred. Look into the
Lord. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver
me. Yes, we need to be delivered.
from ourselves. We need to be delivered from
looking introspectively in ourselves. To look out of ourselves to see
what Christ has done. The great and glorious work of
salvation. It's a wonderful work. It's a
wonderful plan. There's such a depth in it. And
it goes back, you see, right from eternity, doesn't it? Before the world was created,
that plan of salvation was agreed between the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. And it involved the love of the
Father, the love of the Son, and the love of the Holy Spirit,
who were all involved in each of our salvation. What a blessing
to think that this great almighty God was so involved to look upon
such unworthy sinners of the earth and to bring to bear such
great truths into our hearts that we could indeed rejoice
and bless God. And of course, David knew his
condition. He knew his situation. The last
verse in his 40th chapter tells us so very beautifully, but I
am poor and needy. We will be there, we will come
there. No help in self, I find, and
yet off to sort it well, sometimes we have. What a blessing it is
when the Lord brings us to this position to be able to say, but
I am poor and needy. But it's a wonderful statement
after that. Yet. Yet. What a good thing it
is if you and I have a yet in our experience. But I am poor
and needy and yet the hope is here. Yet. The Lord thinketh
upon me. You and me. Unworthy sinners. Condemned sinners. ruined sinners. And yet the Lord thinketh upon
me. He knows where we are. He knows
where we live. Knows where we live naturally,
knows where we live spiritually. And yet the Lord thinketh upon
me. And then he says, Thou art my help and my deliverer. That was where his hope was.
And what a good thing for us. today to be in this position. Thou art my help." Again a very
personal statement and my deliverer. And then he cries out, make no
tarrying. Oh my God. Humble cry to his
God. Well what a mercy it is to think
that there he was able to conclude that psalm in that way, having
commenced it by saying, I waited patiently for the Lord and he
inclined unto me and heard my cry. Well, surely it's good that
you and I have the testimony of God's saints recorded for
our encouragement and our instruction. So as we ponder such great truths,
we may rejoice in our heart to be able to trace out the path
that David led David was brought into by the grace of God. We understand something of it
and can rejoice in the great work of salvation and praise
God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.