May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his holy word. Let's turn to the book of Psalms,
Psalm 37, and we'll read verse 23. The book of Psalms, Psalm
37, and reading verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. It is encouraging to realise
that David wrote this psalm when he was an old man. We're told
in verse 25, I have been young, and now am old. Yet have I not
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful and lendeth,
and his seed is blessed. So we see that here we have a
man of God, who under the blessed influence and the Spirit of God,
was able to write such grand and glorious truths and to tell
us therefore that he was old and therefore clearly he'd seen
a God going before him and God directing him. And as we read
such a word as this, the steps of a good man are ordered, or
as the margin says, established by the Lord. he delighteth in
his way.' And such a positive statement should be an encouragement
to us to realise that we walk in a path ordained by Almighty
God, and how wonderful that is to think that although perhaps
we may make mistakes, indeed the next verse tells us, though
he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholdeth
him with his hand. And so we can believe that the
Lord leads us and that we walk in the way that he has ordained
for us and there may be those times when there are slips and
there are falls And these things really will occur to teach us. Teach us how frail we are, how
frail we are spiritually, and how easily we can be sidetracked,
and how easily we can be tempted by our great adversary, the devil. And so to realise that even in
those things, we won't be utterly cast down. The Lord will hold
us up. and as you think of David himself
and his life how he was left to sadly fall with the adultery
of Bathsheba and then the murder of her husband things utterly
wrong and yet he was able to write the 51st Psalm and show
there his sorrow and his contrition for the sin seeking for forgiveness
and realizing that he had offended Almighty God. So though the Lord
allowed him to fall on that occasion, he was still in that path, in
those steps, ordered by the Lord to bring him to that condition
and that situation where he was able to write and to testify
of what the Lord had done for him and inclined him to indeed
confess our sins as we read this morning in that chapter of John,
the ninth verse in that first chapter. If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. So let us never be afraid or
never be embarrassed to come and confess our sins, because
God knows all about us anyway. He knows all our thoughts, all
our words, all our actions. Nothing is hidden from Almighty
God. So what a blessing it is if God
gives us that spirit of prayer to come and to confess our sins. And it's all part of this pathway,
the steps, of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Yes, God
orders our way. And what a mercy it is. If you
and I were left to order our own way, we'd make massive mistakes. We would never walk a way that
would be profitable for us. We would always be pleasing ourselves. We would never have desire to
honour and glorify our God. We will always be thinking of
honouring and glorifying ourselves. So what a blessing it is to realise
that we have a statement like this and to think that it's written
by David, a man after God's own heart, a man who was directed
and blessed greatly but yet a man who was left to realize his weakness
and his foolishness and we have these accounts in the Word of
God to direct us in our lives today so the Word of God is so
beautifully written so wonderfully organized so great instruction
it contains and to be able to read it and to recognise the
power that it comes and directs to our own souls and speaks to
us in the unknown way of which it is. As we read down this psalm
I was just reminded of an occasion in my own life and I may have
spoken to you about it before but it was probably in about
1984 when we were on holiday in Cyprus and we were worshipping
with the brethren and it was a good time of worship and after
the morning service the The leader came up to me and he said, well,
you'll speak tonight. And I said, well, hold on a minute.
I'm not sure about that. And he said, well. So I said,
I'll think about it. Well, I was concerned about the
ministry, but I never preached before. And I never told anybody
about it, really. Anyway, I went back to the hotel
where we were staying. And these words. The fifth verse came into my
heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in
him and he shall bring it to pass. And I was able to think
upon it, and so I phoned him up and said, well, I would come
and preach. Well, I went and preached for
the first time in my life to an unknown congregation. And
we know not, of course, what good it did, but I always remember
there was a woman who was in the congregations, he was quite
clearly concentrating on every word that I said. So we don't
know, but there was that situation then. I was able to come, commit
my way unto the Lord and believe also that these words were true. The steps of a good man were
ordered in my life. Some people of course would have
criticised me for what I did, we each have to stand before
God and we each have to do God's
will and bow down to his command and so it was an unlooked for
and surprising situation and it was of course many years after
that before I really started preaching I went through very
many difficult times from that day But God is merciful. And what we prove, the Church
of God proves the value and the truth of such a statement as
this. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. We don't rush along in our own
way. If we do, we're often brought
back, we're often corrected. But it's good to realise that
we have a God who leads us, and a God who guides us, and a God
who directs us. There's a wonderful word in the
Proverbs, but it occurs twice in the Proverbs, but let me just
quote one of those places, and that's in the 16th chapter and
the 9th verse. deviseth his way, but the Lord
directeth his steps. Sometimes you and I can plan
in our minds what's going to be a wonderful way, a wonderful
path, how glorious it will be. It may be utterly wrong. A man's
heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps and
how wonderful that is to realize that although our heart may desire
one way to not be left to our own way but to be directed by
the great and glorious Spirit of Almighty God. The Lord directeth
his steps. And so, just like this statement
here, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And
this also tells us that there is movement. We're not standing
still. No, the steps, we're moving forward. It's good to realise that. But
the Lord directs our steps. Sometimes it's very tempting
to do nothing, to just stand still and not move. And yet, if the Lord is in it,
if the Lord is directing our steps, we are to walk in that
path that Almighty God is leading us in. We may not know, where
it's going to lead us to. We may not know what the end
will be, but it's a great blessing to have the answer of a good
conscience. You know, we are told the fear
of man bringeth a snare. And often sometimes we're more
concerned about pleasing man than we are about pleasing God. We're more concerned about doing
that which we think will be agreeable to poor sinful men than the great
God. It's good therefore to have the
Word of God which directs us very clearly, like it does here,
where David says, yes, the steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord. The Lord doesn't leave us. to
wander on aimlessly. Sometimes it may seem it's like
that. Sometimes it may seem we're in
the wilderness. Well, don't forget what Jacob
was. We're told about him. The Lord
found him in the waste-hounding wilderness. He led him about. He ordered
his steps. He led him about. He instructed
him. And he kept him as the apple
of his eye. Well, we know a bit about Jacob's
life, don't we? We know it wasn't a perfect life,
but what we know is that God was with him. And God was directing him. It's very wonderful to realize
that. And it's good sometimes to ponder
the accounts in God's word The characters that are there mentioned,
like Joseph, a well-known character we know, and we should realise
how applicable was this word in his life. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. No doubt, when he was in prison,
he wouldn't have agreed with that. He may have been very tempted,
but we know He was tried and tempted when he was in prison.
And to be told, Joseph, the steps you're walking are good and right,
would have been hard to understand, wouldn't it? It would have been
hard to appreciate. But as we look at the life of
Joseph, we see how gracious God was and what a wonderful deliverance
he had from prison. And how the Lord, you see, had
that work for Him to do. He was hidden away, wasn't He?
In prison. Sometimes we may think that God's
forgotten us. He's forgotten all about us.
And here we are, wandering on. No, God hasn't forgotten. Just
remember the truth of God's Word. Your time is always But my time
is not yet. See, God has a perfect time. Our time is very unperfect. God knows the end from the beginning.
You and I don't. We only know what's happening
now. And what a mercy to realize that God is with us. And he was
with Joseph through all those trying and difficult years. after he'd been sold into Egypt. Yes, what a difficult life it
was, but God was with him. Now that's a blessing, isn't
it? If God is with us, and if God gives us grace, and he gives
us patience to realize, although the way doesn't seem to be working
out in the way that we anticipated, But what it is, it's ordered,
it's established by Almighty God. We don't want to be left
to ourselves, do we? No, we want God to direct us,
we want God to bless us in every step that we take. We don't want
to take a full step. Sometimes, you know, we get rather
worked up. And we want God to work now. Well, God has his time. You and
I must realise continually, we are but little insignificant
sinners on the earth. And to think that Almighty God,
Almighty God, has looked down upon us and has called us out
of darkness into the marvellous light of his everlasting gospel. And he's leading us about and
he's instructing us. The word they often quote in
the 107th Psalm. He led them forth by the right
way. They may go to a city of habitation. God doesn't make mistakes. It's good to realise that, to
realise that God is kind and God is gracious and God is merciful. What a favour it is then to be
in that situation and to recognise the goodness and mercy of Almighty
God. Well as we've quoted part of
this verse 25 and again the 16th chapter of Proverbs, There is
a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death. You see, if something is attracted
to us, often we think it seems right. Possibly when things are
unattractive to us, it's right. The way which we don't want,
is the way that God leads us in and the way that God instructs
us in. And the reason is this. When
we find ourselves in that position, it makes us dependent upon God. When things aren't working out
as we anticipated, it makes us cry to the Lord that he will
appear, that he will direct us that he will strengthen us, that
he will comfort us, and he will go before us. It's important,
isn't it? Therefore, you see, as we find
our steps are ordered by the Lord. And he refers, doesn't
he, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And in and
of ourselves, of course, we're not good. We're bad, we're sinners
of the earth. But through the grace of God,
That grace which has called us out of darkness into his marvellous
light, directs us indeed in the right way. And then you see we
are willing. Willing. We're made willing. Made willing. Naturally we don't
become willing of ourselves. But God makes us willing. He
makes us willing to walk in that way to know that our steps are
ordered by the Lord. And as we look back in our life
we realise how very humbling it is to think that sometimes
the Lord appears in a very remarkable way and instructs us and teaches
us and directs us in a way that we didn't look for And yet, you
see, it is a very humbling way. We can go, can't we, to the New
Testament, and we can think of Paul and Silas. They were forbidden
to go where they thought they should go. And the Acts of the
Apostles in the 16th chapter tells us of the experience that
they were called to walk in. And we read there, and after
they would come to Mysia, they are saved to go into Bithynia,
but the Spirit suffered them not. You see, they had to obey
the Word of Almighty God. And what was the result? What
we're told is, They passed him by, my seer, and came down to
try us. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night, there stood
a man in Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia
and help us. You see, God had a different
direction for Paul and Silas. It wasn't in Mycenae. No, it was to go to Macedonia. And again, it's just worth pondering
that position. Their steps were ordered by the
Lord. They obeyed the Word of God. And they went to Macedonia. And we would think that doing
that, God would indeed have been with them and greatly blessed
them and encouraged them and all things would have gone smoothly
well God was with them but things didn't go smoothly indeed they
went in a very opposite direction they were able to come and we're
told and it's good to read this we came with a straight course
to Samothracia and the next day to Neapolis and from thence to
Philippi which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia in
a colony. And we were in that city abiding
certain days. Well, there they were. Now, two
things occurred. First of all, they went down
to the river where prayer was going to be made. And there was
Lydia. and her friends with her. And the Word of God through Paul
was powerful in her heart. So it was made a great blessing
to her. And the result was that she followed
the Lord and was baptised. And then Paul was preaching the
Gospel. And that wasn't liked. And also he spoke against a woman,
a certain damsel, possessed for the spirit of divination. And
again, the people didn't like that. And therefore they were
brought to the magistrates. And the multitude rose up against
them. And we're told, they rose up
together against them. Remember, they were doing the
Lord's will. They were walking in the footsteps
that God directed them. When they had laid many stripes
upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to
keep them safely. Well, there they were, doing
God's will. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. There they were, in prison, being
beaten. They were doing God's will. Let
us not be surprised, therefore, if things work out in this way.
But there was still to be a time of blessing. There was a man,
the jailer, and his house. that God had a mercy to. And therefore God came in that
time when they were in prison, caused an earthquake, caused
a jailer to indeed attempt to take his life and told to stop
by a pool, and then came in with those glorious words and asked
the Pope, what must I do to be saved? what must I do to be saved? What a blessing, wasn't it? And
Paul said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved and thy house. And so we see there was a good
outcome, but we see God's mysterious working. Not the way that you
and I would have thought, but there was no doubt about it,
that the steps of Paul and Silas were indeed ordered by the Lord. And they were willing to follow
that. So you and I, in the day and age in which we live, should
not be, shall I say, disappointed if sometimes things appear to
be going in an opposite direction. They still pursued the right
way. what a blessing it is therefore
to always have a desire to obey Almighty God and not to be left
to ourselves remember also in the case of Esther we read that
account, don't we? and we think how wonderful it
was and yet we know that Esther was very fearful of carrying
out Mordecai's commands because she knew that if she went before
the king and he didn't hold out the golden scepter that there
was only one result that she would lose her life but her steps
were ordered by the Lord and she was able to declare that
great and glorious phrase I will go and if I perish, I perish
submission to the Lord's way, submission to walk in the right
way, to be blessed with that desire to follow the steps that
God had ordained. And of course, as we know, Mordecai
had told her that perhaps she'd come to the kingdom for such
a time as this. And that's the same today in
our lives. We may come to a place, to a
situation, for such a time as this. God had ordained that her
steps would be ordered, that through her the Jewish nation
would be delivered. Well, you and I know not what
is before us in our little lives, especially in the tumultuous
times, really, in which we live. But the great favour is to realise
that God is with us, and God is directing us, and God is blessing
us. Even though we find our life
is not easy, perhaps very contrary to what we expect. You see, we
always paint a rather pleasant picture for ourselves. We always
think that things are going to work out so very marvellously
for us, but we find they do work out marvellously for us, but
often not in the way that we anticipated. And really the underlying
truth is this. As we are directed, the steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The path that the Lord
directs us in, if we are the children of God, is to bring
us closer to Christ. Bring us closer to Christ. And if you and I are to be brought
closer to Christ, it will be really in the way that the Apostle
Paul looked forward to. To be blessed with fellowship. fellowship with his sufferings
and that may sound very strange and that may sound very hard
and you and I in our minds may turn away from such a situation
and think well I couldn't possibly be blessed and walk in that path
the Lord knows what he's planned for you and me our steps his
steps that you and I will walk in Paul's steps were directed
so that he was able to preach the Gospel. His steps were directed
so that he was made a blessing to the jailer and his family.
We don't know what the Lord has in store for us. But Paul was
blessed to desire fellowship with Christ. Even in that time
of suffering, he knew the blessing that was to be enjoyed. Because spiritual blessings are
so wonderful. Spiritual blessings bring peace
into our hearts. And they bring peace in our hearts
for this reason, that we can see that our steps have been
ordered by the Lord. And he's brought us into this
way. We're walking through life. Our
lives are hasting away. We don't want to get to the end
of our journey and know nothing of fellowship with a despised
and crucified man. Because if we don't, we'll never
appreciate the wonder of glory. We'll never be found looking
forward. to see our suffering Saviour. We'll always be looking
for other things. But it's a great blessing if
God orders our steps to show us our utter unworthiness and
His wonderful love and His glorious mercy. See, that puts us in a
right state. And what does that really do?
It establishes in the truth of God, and it puts us on the rock,
the rock Christ Jesus, so that then we realise the things that
perhaps we were anticipating were just moving, just like the
sand would disappear, to be able to say from our heart, on Christ,
the solid rock I stand. And you and I won't come there
unless we've been directed by Almighty God, unless our steps
have been ordered by the Lord. And then, just very quickly,
he says, and he delighteth in his way. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Well, I wonder if you and I delight
in the way that the Lord is leading us. Perhaps we're complaining,
perhaps we're rebelling, and yet to realise that God, in love
to our souls, is leading us in this right way. that we might
come indeed at last to glory. You see, God knows what you and
I need to fit us for our eternal home. We don't get to the end
of our natural life without the blessed work of the Lord fitting
us to leave this world and to enter into glory. The Lord takes
us in hand He deals with us in love to our souls. We, by nature,
are a pretty rough lump of rock. We've got to be shaped. We've
got to be moulded. The sharp corners have got to
be cut off. The ridges are going to be ground
down so that we're made fit for our eternal inheritance. It's the work of Almighty God. And here we have it spoken very
clearly. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. There's nothing really
more blessed than to know that God's hand is upon us for good. It hasn't
left us to wander on aimlessly through this poor old world.
But His hand is upon us, leading us in the right way. That way which brings us closer
to Christ. That way which is a preparation
for our eternal home. Remember, Glory is a prepared
place for a prepared people. We don't get to glory unless
we have been prepared by the blessed Spirit of God. And it's
His work and we delight in His work. We delight to realise that
He hasn't passed us by as we so richly deserve. Look around
and see how many have been passed by. How humbling it is if we
have that wonderful evidence the Lord has not passed us by.
But He's come to us and He's called us and He spoke in those
glorious words, live. And you and I live when we walk
in this path and we realise the Lord is gracious and the Lord
is mindful of us. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. And he delighteth in his way. It's good to ponder such a word
as this. I remember it being preached
from here many, many years ago by Vernon Farley, who was the
pastor at home in Smallfield. and here he spoke on this, I
remember quite clearly what a good thing it is to remember words
like this which are directed to our spiritual life so that
we can be encouraged to believe the Lord is dealing with us as
sons and daughters of the Most High God and that we are being
prepared for our eternal home. What a blessing that is. How
comforting, how strengthening it is. So ponder these words. The steps of a good man are,
no doubt about it, are ordered or established by the Lord, and
he delighteth in his way. Amen.