May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his holy word.
Let us turn to the book of the Proverbs chapter 3 and we'll
read verses 5 and 6. So Proverbs chapter 3 and reading
verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord. with all thine
heart, and lead not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Well, I'm sure that every true
believer desires that almighty God would indeed direct their
paths. how important it is to realise
that God is directing us, indeed every moment of our life, and
we're not being left to ourselves. So, in order for this to be accomplished,
we read there are three conditions here in these two verses. First of all, to trust in the
Lord with all thine heart. Secondly, and lean not unto thine
own understanding, And then thirdly, in all thy ways acknowledge him. And then the Lord says, and he
shall direct thy paths. Well, it's quite easy to read
three conditions like this. It's not quite so easy to actually
live them out and walk them out. And yet we can be sure that what
the Lord sets before us here is good and right and beneficial. And what a blessing it is for
you and me to come in with this first request. Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart. And that means what it says,
it means it's not a divided heart. It's not a heart that wants to
serve the Lord and then also wants to serve the things of
this world. We're told you cannot serve God
and mammon. You cannot serve God and the
things of time. And yet you see by nature how
often we try and do just that. Well, the word of God is very
clear. And it's important for us to
realize the benefit it is of so doing because if God gives
us grace to trust in the Lord with all our heart then we can
believe he will direct our paths and that really means that we
don't have preconceived ideas it really means we don't have
our own plans but we come and we commit ourselves unto the
Lord what a blessing it is when we can come and truly commit
our way unto the Lord. You may remember, there's many
occasions in the Psalms where these words of direction are
given, and we won't go through them all tonight, be here a long
time, but just one or two. And in Psalm 37, the Psalm of
David, and David often needed the Lord's direction. in his
life. He didn't have an easy life.
He was chased around by Pharaoh, went from one place to another,
and the enemies came against him. And yet, you see, he was
able to commit his way to the Lord, to seek counsel of his
God. And God so often wonderfully
appeared for him and answered him. Well, in this 37th Psalm,
we are told this in verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall
bring it to pass. Again, it's a mercy, isn't it,
if God gives us grace to do just that, to trust in the Lord with
all our heart, to commit our way unto the Lord. You know,
easy words, aren't they? Not quite so easy to do, especially
if perhaps the Lord leads us in a way that we don't really
want. Well, the Lord knows what is best for us. And again, it's
good to come and recognise that we are to submit ourselves under
the mighty hand of God and to be willing to do His will And
so to come and recognise the greatness of this truth, commit
thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall
bring it to pass. Well, God knows what we have
in our lives. God knows what path we're walking
in. Probably only you and God know
the particular path that the Lord has caused you to be in
at the present time, and therefore you find that you're wanting
God to direct your paths, and he shall direct thy paths. It is wonderful to know that
we have a God who gives us positive promises, positive promises. And here we have this positive
word here, and he shall direct thy paths. And again, just to
recognise that the path that God provides for us, the path
that the Lord directs us to walk in, is often not the path that
we would choose. Indeed, not the way that we think
would be best for us. It's so easy for us to come to
a conclusion. What we have to realize is this.
God knows the end from the beginning, and you and I don't. All we know
is the actual moment, the time that we're in now. And we don't
know what the future holds. And we may think, well, we need
God to do this, and we need God to direct us in this, and then
we'll be okay. Well, let's come to this position,
to trust in the Lord. To trust in the Lord. Again,
let's remind ourselves, with all thine heart, with all thy
heart, not a divided heart to come in prayer, you know sometimes
I hope we do pray the Lord will direct us the Lord will open
the way and it's a blessing therefore if we come in that way desiring
the Lord will direct us and make us submissive in the day of His
power to walk in His way because If we walk in that way, if the
Lord directs us, we can be sure it will be the right way and
a good way. And what we must always realise
is that we're on this earth only for a short time. We're passing
through this earth. And it's a great blessing if
we're on pilgrimage, that we are strangers and pilgrims on
the earth. This is not our rest. Our great
concern is to be directed by God so that we walk in that right
way which brings us at last to that heavenly city of glory. And sometimes we need the Holy
Spirit to just take us aside as it were and clearly show to
us the vast difference between time eternity. How easy it is to concentrate
our little lives on the things of time. What a blessing it is if God
gives us grace to concentrate on the things of eternity. So that we're more concerned
about our spiritual life than we are about our natural life. I wonder how many of us tonight
can say, well, I can honestly say that I do desire that the
Lord may lead me especially with regard to my spiritual life. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, believing that all other things, all other
necessary things, will be added unto us. What a blessing to be directed
by our gracious God to that heavenly city and to be directed and blessed
day by day and instructed in the journey. I'm sure you have
heard of and some of you may have read Pilgrim's Progress
and especially the journey of Christian and Christian set out
from the town destruction was there and he left that city and
he went on a journey and it wasn't an easy journey it wasn't an
easy journey but it brought him at last safe home to the celestial
city And our eyes should be fixed upon our eternal home. Often
they're fixed upon our natural home. Well, what a mercy it is
if we are given grace to seek our eternal home. Those things
which are above, where Christ is, and that place of Eternal
happiness. You see whatever the Lord Permits
us to receive on this earth, and we should be very thankful
what God gives to us It's fading it's passing a few years and
it will be gone be gone a Place that knows us will know us no
more. I And we shall then be in that
eternal place, which means we shall be there forever and ever. And what an amazing blessing
to be found in glory with the Saviour in that place of eternal
happiness, with no sin and no sorrow, and praising our Saviour
for all that He's done. Now then, we have these words
before us to encourage us. Because the devil is very subtle. And the devil would have us concentrate
on our natural life. He doesn't want you and me to
concentrate on our spiritual life. He wants us to find our
happiness on this earth. the happiness of a true pilgrim
is to come. The Lord does grant happiness
to his church on this earth but it is in measure because there
is that eternal happiness which the Lord has provided for all
his people as he tells us so very clearly I go to prepare
a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you I will
come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there
ye may be also that's the word of the Saviour that's the promise
of God and how wonderful it is and how encouraging it is and
so we need to trust in the Lord that he would indeed direct our
paths. Well, may we all have that real
God-honouring desire to be found walking in that way and have
the desire, as David said, to commit thy way unto the Lord.
Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he goes
on in the seventh verse, And he says, rest in the Lord and
wait patiently for him. You know, we're often impatient,
aren't we? We want everything to appear now. Well, says David,
rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself. because of him who prospereth
in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to
pass. We're not to fret. The psalm
begins with those words. Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for
they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green
herb. It's good sometimes to remember
such words of instruction God has given us to put things into
a right context. And so what a mercy tonight if
we're able to come and trust in the Lord again with all our
heart, not a divided heart. And so often it is that we do
have a divided heart, don't we? It's very easy to find ourselves
sidetracked to the poor things of this world. We spoke recently
on the 11th of Hebrews, and in the 11th of Hebrews there's a
very wonderful word of direction for the Church of God, and we
should be very thankful for the Word of God. And this is what
it says, And verse six, but without faith, it is impossible to please
him, for he that cometh to God, that means he that trusteth in
God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. You see, coming to God in this
way, with all our heart, trusting the Lord with all our heart,
all thine heart means to come diligently come diligently and
sometimes we just need to come aside and sit before the Lord
you remember years ago in David's case when he had a real problem
what did he do he came and he sat before the Lord I wonder
if you've ever come and sat before the Lord and poured out your
heart to him and saw that he would indeed direct you and that
you might be able to put all your trust in him. Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart. Well that's really very similar
isn't it to these words. He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. You see that means the Lord doesn't
turn aside and forget about you. It's encouraging, isn't it, to
know here that we have a God who is a rewarder, not of any
goodness in ourselves, but it's because God gives us that grace
to believe that we are coming to the almighty God, the ruler
of the universe. And let us realise God holds
everything in his hand. He holds the heart of all men
and women in his hand. Sometimes people think they are
in control of their own destiny. Reality is they're not. The reality
is that God is in control. And what a mercy therefore for
us tonight if we recognise this. We want the Lord to come and
to direct us, to direct our paths. He shall direct in our paths,
and to then come in this way. First of all, trusting in the
Lord with all thine heart. I wonder tonight if we're able
to come before God and say, well, Lord, thou knowest how my real
concern, my real desire, is to put all my trust in thee, and
to leave the issue with thee. that thou would indeed direct
me, and that thou would therefore give me that grace to come casting
all my care upon thee, trusting in thyself. What a blessing it
is then if we have such a God and we're able then to come to
him like that and to realize that we have a wonderful God
and a wonderful Savior. Well, don't forget these three
points here. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him. So often, you know, we tend to
forget to acknowledge our God. And what a mercy it is when God
gives us grace to acknowledge our God and to walk humbly before
him. It's a great and wonderful blessing
if you and I are able to do just that. Some glorious truths and
glorious words really in the Old Testament which we shouldn't
pass over. It's very easy to pass over those
words in the Old Testament. But we have a word in the Chronicles
which is a word of instruction to the Church of God. And it's
spoken to none less than Solomon. And this is what is said in verse
9 of chapter 28, the first Chronicles. And thou, Solomon, my son, know
thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart
and with a willing mind. For the Lord searcheth all hearts
and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. Perhaps sometimes
we do have imaginations. We see a situation, And we think,
well, that looks rather pleasant. And it's an imagination, we don't
know. And understand it, all the imaginations are the thoughts.
If thou seek Him, remember, we're encouraged, seek and ye shall
find. Seek Him, He will be found of
thee. But if thou forsake Him, He will
cast thee out forever. Well, he goes on. He says, take
heed now. The Lord has chosen thee to build
a house for the sanctuary. And he finally says very similar
words to what we had before us last Sunday morning. Be strong
and do it. Remember, those are the words
that Mary said to the servants with regards to the water pots.
Do what the Lord said to them. And here we have these words
again tonight, be strong and do it. You see, not always the
things appear easy and we need the help and we need the support
of Almighty God. And so here we have then such
a statement, trust in the Lord with all thy heart. Again, we
mustn't forget what it says. It doesn't just say trust in
the Lord in a kind of casual way. It's very easy just to say,
oh, well, I trust in the Lord. But it may not be with all our
heart. Because that means what it says,
committing our way totally to God and leaving the issue with
Him. It's not always easy, especially
when You seem to be led in a completely different way to what you expected. He shall direct thy paths. Don't forget that positive statement. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. There is a
way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is a way
of destruction. You see, there is a way that
seems right, but it may not be right. It may be totally wrong. If you follow the life of David,
and it's good to follow the life of David, you will find that
on a number of occasions, the enemy was before David. And David
prayed to the Lord whether he should pursue or whether he should
not. Sometimes the Lord said pursue
and sometimes he was told not to pursue. You see he obeyed
the word of Almighty God. He listened to his word and God
was with him. He didn't leave him to his own
understanding. What a mercy then it is that
we're not left to lean unto our own understanding. And just ponder
those words really. Leaning means to rely on something,
doesn't it? You know, if you're feeling tired
and something and you may lean on something to support you,
you may need some support sometimes. Well, we're not to lean to our
own understanding. which we think might give us
some encouragement and some support. No, we are to rely upon God,
that he will indeed appear for us. And lean not unto thine own
understanding. These words are recorded here
purely because, left to ourselves, we will lean to our own understanding. We look around and we'll see
the path, and we think, that path's too difficult, I'm not
going down that road. This path is easy, I'll go down
that road. Well, if you follow the word
of God, and again, if you follow the path the Christian walked
in the Pilgrim's Progress, you'll find that one road is narrow
and difficult, and one road is broad and easy. The devil wants
you to walk in the broad road, which is nice and easy. But it's
that road which ends in destruction. Whereas the narrow way has many
obstacles and many difficulties. But the difference is, if God
is with us, if God before us, who can be against us? It may
appear to be a narrow way, it may appear to be a difficult
way, but if God is with us, if God is for us, no one will be
able to prevail against us because we're trusting in the Lord and
we're leaning not unto our own understanding. What a mercy there
if God is gracious to us gives us this clear direction and this
clear blessing. What a mercy. We have a God who
is ever gracious, you know, and ever mindful of us. He's never
asleep. He's always alert. And what a
wonderful thing that is to know that we have such a God. Well,
Jeremiah didn't have an easy life either. And it's good, really,
that we have so many examples of godly men in the Word of God
who had a difficult life, but they had a good end. They got
safe home to glory. And that's what you and I should
be desiring. When we hear such a word as this,
trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine
own understanding. And Jeremiah was given wonderful
words of instruction. There's some very beautiful words
in the book of Jeremiah. You shouldn't pass over it. You
should try and read it. Some of it's hard to read, but
nonetheless, press on. And in the ninth chapter, verse
23, this is what we read. Thus saith the Lord. And that's
good, isn't it? Thus saith the Lord. It doesn't
say, thus saith so and so. Thus saith the Lord. Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom. Again, we can often look to ourselves,
look to our own understanding. Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory
in his might, and let not the rich man glory in his riches,
but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things
I delight, saith the Lord. Well, that's a word of instruction,
isn't it? What are we glorying? Are we glorying our own ability? Are we glorying what we've done? Are we glorying the prospects,
perhaps, of the future? And yet here, Jeremiah, a man
of God, tells us, Yes, that we're not to glory in wisdom, neither
let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory
in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that
he understandeth and knoweth me. What a blessing, my friends,
for you and me to understand the great and glorious way of
salvation. To understand. the great and
glorious plan that God has put in place, and to have an understanding
that he has gone before to prepare a place for us. That's what we
are to glory in. Let him that glorieth glory in
this, and he understandeth. That means that God's given us
a spiritual understanding. You see, natural understanding
will fade away. When we die, natural understanding
will go. It'll die with us. We won't be able to take with
us any natural understanding. People have been very brilliant
in their ability. It all disappears. but what a
mercy if we have a spiritual understanding. Let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. That's the great
blessing that you and I need, to know the Lord, to know Jesus
Christ and him crucified. What a wonderful favor that is. And so we have, and lean not
unto thine own understanding, but to have that spiritual sight,
those spiritual eyes given to us to realise that this world
is fading and this world is passing, but there is a rest that remains
for the people of God in glory, to be found with the Saviour
eternally. It's a wonderful thought, isn't
it? And a wonderful prospect, and I hope it is. because these
things are spiritually discerned. They're spiritual understanding. They're not natural understanding.
Naturally, we won't understand spiritual things. We may have
some idea, but the secret of the Lord is with them that fear
Him, and He will show them His covenant, that covenant of His
grace to unworthy sinners. Oh, praise God tonight. if the
Lord has come and shown you that blessed secret of his covenant
of grace. Let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. Well, tonight, can
we stand by the grace of God and say, I thank God and I praise
God that he has revealed himself to me as it is not unto the world. He's revealed himself to me as
my great and glorious saviour, as that one who has redeemed
my soul, that one who shed his precious blood upon the cross
at Calvary so that I might be freed from the condemnation of
the law which says the soul that sinneth it shall die. Well, something
to glory in, isn't it? Something to understand. Something which is eternally
blessed. So says Jeremiah, but let him
that glorieth glory in this. This is what you and I want to
glory in. Not in our natural attainments,
not in the things that we haven't possessed, but in what the Lord
has revealed to us. with regard to our lost condition
and regard to that glorious salvation. Well, where do we stand tonight?
Have we this right and spiritual understanding? Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding,
but to have received this blessed spiritual understanding which
emanates from our God, to be able to rejoice in it. I am the
Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord. Indeed, our Lord delights in
the work of his own hands. What a mercy, my friends, tonight
to have the evidence in our heart that we possess the work of the
Lord's hands upon us. The Lord has come to us. As we
spoke this morning, he's found us. What a mercy if he's found
us, he's sought us and he's found us. What a blessing and what
a mercy. So can we not therefore rejoice
in these great and glorious truths and come tonight and praise God
indeed from whom all blessings flow. And just following on in
this same prophecy, Jeremiah, and in the 10th chapter, that
previous one was the 9th chapter. It's the 10th chapter and verse
23. Oh Lord, says Jeremiah, I know,
I know. Jeremiah knew. What a mercy if
you and I know. Oh Lord, I know that the way
of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. You and I can't direct our steps
naturally in a right way. That's why we have this desire
set before us here. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Well, what
a mercy of God has given us spiritual understanding that we do understand
therefore the way of salvation we do rejoice in what Christ
has done and to be able to come and say my hope is built on nothing
less than than Jesus, blood, and righteousness. That's a good
foundation. My friends, may we be on that
foundation, and may we have the evidence of it in our own soul,
so that we can rejoice tonight. And if you and I can rejoice,
it brings peace to our soul. We may be like a troubled sea,
a stormy sea, and everything seems to be against us. If God
be for us, who can be against us? Rest in the Lord. And so I have these words here. Trust in the Lord with all thy
heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. And then we're
told in all thy ways, acknowledge him. In all thy ways, acknowledge
him. How often we fail, don't we,
to acknowledge what the Lord has done, how the Lord has directed
us, how the Lord has blessed us. What a wonderful mercy it
is if we have the wonderful evidence that God is with us and God is
helping us and God is not leaving us to ourselves. You may remember
we have the wonderful book of Nehemiah and Nehemiah teaches
us a number of things and you may remember in the second chapter
There was that time of the wine was before the king and the cup
bearer came and he took up the cup and gave it to the king and
we're told, now I had not been before time sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto
me, why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou not sick? This is
nothing else but sorrow of heart.' Then I was sore afraid, and said
unto the king, Let the king live for ever. Why should not my countenance
be sad, when the city, the place of my father's sepulchre, lieth
waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then
the king said to me, for what does thou make request? I remember here was Nehemiah,
the king's cupbearer in the presence of the king. And he'd been asked
this question. And we're told what he did. I hope you remember
what he did. It's a very wonderful statement
we read. This is what he did. So I prayed
to the God of heaven. There he was before the king. He got a question to answer and
he prayed to the God of heaven. What does that mean? That means
that there's no situation in our lives when we cannot pray
to the God of heaven. God is in every place. God hears
every word that we say, whether audibly or through our minds.
And here we have this example of this godly man in the presence
of the king, praying to the God of heaven. Well, and therefore
he said unto the king, if it please the king and thy servant
have found grace in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto
Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchres, that I may build
it. And the king said unto me, the
queen always a sitting by him, for how long shall thy journey
be? And when will thou return? So it pleased the king to set
me, send me, and I set him a time. You see, God has the hearts of
all men in his hand, and we should never forget that. And so here
we have this statement, all thy ways acknowledge him. This man, Nehemiah, in the presence
of the king, still prayed to God. Perhaps some of you have
known what it is in a difficult situation to pray to God. And he's heard and answered your
prayer. He hasn't cast you aside, but
he's been gracious to you. and be mindful of you. In the first chapter of Nehemiah,
we read also about Nehemiah praying and he says this, O Lord, I beseech
Thee. I beseech Thee. That means he
prayed very urgently. It wasn't just some casual prayer,
hoping the Lord was somehow here. It was a very urgent prayer.
O Lord, I beseech Thee. Let now thine ear be attentive
to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants
who desire to fear thy name and prosper. I pray thee, thy servant,
this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, for
I was the king's cupbearer. What a mercy if God gives us
grace to not be ashamed of our religion. And so here we have this statement
here before us, in all thy ways acknowledge him, in all thy ways. This man, Nehemiah, acknowledged
who he was and he had a God who he worshipped. You see, we should
not expect God to answer our prayers. if we deny Him. Or if we go about acting as though
we're not a Christian. We go about without demonstrating
that our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. It's good to demonstrate and
to say who we believe in and who we trust and to have this
wonderful evidence and hope. Our God will hear us. And so, in all thy ways, acknowledge
him. And again, the word is comprehensive,
isn't it? It doesn't say, well, if you're
really getting astray and it's really difficult, then you better
acknowledge the Lord. It doesn't say that. It says,
in all thy ways, acknowledge him. How God glorifying that
is. It may not be easy to our flesh,
In fact, it probably won't be easy to our flesh, but I'll tell
you this, we'll have the answer of a good conscience. We know
what the word of God tells us. Those that honor me, I will honor. And those that despise me shall
be lightly esteemed. And so here we are desiring that
the Lord will come and direct our paths. I hope we all desire
that in everything. The Lord will come and direct
our paths. And therefore, are we trusting
in the Lord? Don't forget, with all our heart. Secondly, are we leaning to our
own understanding? The word tells us, lean not unto
thine own understanding. That means casting all our care
upon our God. And then, in all thy ways, acknowledge
him. What a saviour we've got. A great
and glorious saviour who hasn't denied us, who hasn't turned
away from us. hasn't turned his back upon us.
We have a God hearing and a God who answers prayer. And so we're
told here that in all thy ways acknowledge him, and finally
the answer, and he shall direct thy paths. That's a promise. My friends, there are many promises
in the word of God. And what a blessing it is when
you and I can lay hold of those promises and bring them before
our God. But don't forget, there are these
conditions, gracious conditions, and you and I should desire to
walk in them, be found doing God's will, desiring to honor
and glorify his great and wonderful name, to think that he has given
his life a debt that you and I can never repay, a great debt
that we owe. And therefore, to not forget
those words, those that honour me I will honour, and those that
despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Amen.